Mental Madness
by JDFlame20222
Summary: Whatever you may believe, after reading this twisted tale, you may wish to check everywhere whenever you're feeling watched. You just never know... Disclaimer: Remake of Creepypasta, "Jeff the Killer" by JDFlame20222 (A.K.A Psycho Therapy) *For the Original story, please look up "Sesseur" on YouTube*
1. Chapter 1

"MURDERS REPORTED IN SALEM"

"MISSING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: JEFFERY AND LOUIS WOODS"

"PARENTS FOUND DEAD"

"ANOTHER MISSING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: JANE ARKENSAW"

"THE SALEM SLASHER RETURNS"

"MURDERS SPREADING AROUND THE COUNTRY"

"JEFFERY WOODS VS. JANE ARKENSAW?!"

"NEW REPORT: JANE ARKENSAW: DEAD! CAUSE: CHILDBIRTH"

"IS JEFFERY AND JANE'S BABY STILL ALIVE?!"

"NEW KILLER ON THE RISE?!"

"JANE ARKENSAW SPOTTED AGAIN?!"

"THE SALEM SLASHER RETURNS...NEW "KILLER" FAMILY HAS BEEN REUNITED! MASS CHAOS SPREADS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD"

As tragic as the mentioned newspaper headlines were, there is usually an equally twisted origin connected.

Who was the monster responsible for these stories? Let us turn the clock and go back to see how it all began.

October 17th, 1975

A blue 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Townsman Station Wagon drove down a hill, as a family of four rode to their new neighborhood of Salem.

The parents in the driver's and front seat; Wendell Ernest Woods: goofy yet firm father.

He's the type of father that was rather nice and generous. He would donate to charity, earn money for the house, barley drank, and would smoke a cigarette to be "social"; truly a model-citizen. Although at times, he would be considered "nerdy" by his sons' classmates and his co-workers. But don't be fooled; you wouldn't want to be on his bad side.

He has brown eyes, black hair that could easily be mistaken as Rod Sterling's if it were shorter, and a thin mustache that looks something similar to Burt Reynolds'.

He wears a black business suit with a green tie, and a pair of black and white colored dance shoes, on account of his career as an actor/dancer. He was one of the richest in town, but was modest enough not to flaunt it like a member of the Mafia.

Michele Caroline Woods; dotting, and somewhat controlling mother.

She's the type of mother that is caring, and she wants what's best for her children. She was your typical housewife/mother who did most of the chores, and was superstitious.

She'd do ANYTHING to help her family's safety, even if it meant for her sons to wear bicycle helmets to school. That's exactly what she did for them in Kindergarten, through fifth grade.

Her sons and husband love her, yet at times, they consider her safety techniques quite embarrassing.

She has blue eyes, and dark brown hair that was in the style of Jackie Kennedy's. She wears an Emma Pencil Dress in Black and Pink, British Brevitts, white pearl earrings, and has a purse to match her dress.

The teenagers sitting in the back seat; Jeffery Herman Woods: curious and adventurous sixteen year-old; preferring to be addressed as "Jeff".

He was never bothered by loud noises, nor squashing bugs when present. He loved to watch monster movies when his parents were away, and his favorite thing to read is poetry written by Edgar Allen Poe, and other macabre books like "Psycho", written by Robert Bloch.

He was always bullied in all the schools he's ever attended. This is because he suffers from a rare skin-pigment condition called "Albinism".

His fellow classmates would tease and harass him for the way his skin and irises looked.

His skin was extremely pale, much like what you'd expect a white envelope to look like, and his irises were a light gray color, similar to that of an artist's sketch. His hair was surprisingly black, like his father's, and it was styled liked Michael J Fox's when he played the role of Marty McFly in "Back To The Future".

His pupils became dilated whenever his face was exposed to the sun, so he was forced to wear sunglasses in the daytime. Unfortunately, the kids would call him a "poser", thinking he was trying to be "cool".

He LOVES the idea of moving to Salem, Massachusetts. He's read all the history of this creepy township, more specifically; the Salem Witch Trials.

He wears a black t-shirt, with a white hooded sweatshirt covering it, black jeans, and high-tops, which looked like basketball shoes.

Then there's Louis Franklin Woods: timid and quiet seventeen year-old; preferring to be addressed as "Lou".

He is easily frightened, due to his brother, Jeff reading about creatures of the night, and play all sorts of spooky pranks before they matured.

Always there for Jeff whenever the bullies would mock his face by verbally asking for them to stop. This strategy didn't always work, and that earned my black eyes, wedgies, stolen lunch money, etc. He was also teased for the way he preferred to style his hair; which looked much like YouTuber, NateWantsToBattle's.

He was sitting with unease, as he remembered the tales his brother would tell about this twisted township.

He has dark brown hair that was styled how it was years ago, and light brown eyes. He wears a dark brown coat, along with a light blue suit shirt underneath, long dark khaki pants, black leather gloves, and a black and gray scarf around his neck.

Lastly in the Woods' car, is Smile Dog: Jeff's best canine friend and personal guardian.

Jeff has owned him ever since he was five years old, and since he was a newborn puppy.

He is a red and black German Shepherd, with a dark red collar and silver colored dog tag. Smile's a good dog, he always kept gaurd of his master.

He's even fought off bullies on the street before, letting out a snarl and a bark; truly a man's best friend.

Jeff and Lou's parents were overly happy, as they sang "Yankee Doodle" while their father drove the car.

Jeff didn't like to sing, and Lou was still at unease, as he looked all around the town, noticing strange things; potion shops, a black cat...

His thoughts about the strange history made his imagination run wild, as trees became morbid and grotesque inside his mind.

He then saw a strange figure next to a tree that he would describe as "a faceless lawyer or something". It seemed to just stare at him and Jeff, despite possessing no "face", and the family car driving past so quickly.

"J-Jeff...Did you see tha-" Lou was interrupted by his parents singing.

"Yankee Doodle went to town, a-riding on a pony. He stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni!" Their mother began, pretending to play a snare drum.

"Yankee Doodle, keep it up! Yankee Doodle Dandy, mind the music and the step, and with the girls be handy!" Both parents harmonized.

"Take it, Jeff!" Their father exclaimed excitedly.

"Dad, can I read a book? It's boring here, and I need to take my mind off going to the bathroom." Jeff replied, holding his crotch tightly.

"Son, don't you remember what I've told you about reading in the car?"

"'Reading in the car causes motion sickness. Don't be a fool, read inside and stay in school.'." They recited in unison.

"Right," His father said, as he kept his focus on the road.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "But what about my bladder?"

"Well Jeff, you'll have to wait until we're in our new house." His father smiled. "Can't just stop NOW, we're almost there anyway. Can you try to hold it a bit longer?"

"...I guess." Jeff tried to focus on holding his bladder back, as he hoped they'd arrive to their destination soon.

"Jeff, did you see t-that thing by the trees?" Lou asked, looking at Jeff with fear.

"No, what thing?"

"I don't even know...It had a...White face, but it didn't HAVE a face. Just a nose, and details OF a face. It was really...Creepy. Kinda looked like that "towel around your face to scare Lou" prank you pulled when we were kids."

"Lou, are you messing with me because we're in Salem now? Dude, I know ALL the stories, you CAN'T freak ME out...Maybe we could scare some little kids at Halloween though. Just looking around gives me some GREAT scare-tactic ideas."

"I-I'm serious, Jeff. It was...Looking at us...So-to-speak."

Jeff gained an evil smile. "Really? Huh, maybe it'll come over to our house once we're settled in...Hehehe..."

"Don't say that. I think we should ask around about it."

"And what? Most of these people have PROBABLY been exposed to witchcraft, but they'd probably think we're INSANE if we came up to them with that...It's bad enough my face doesn't look..."Normal" to SOCIETY'S standards..."

"Your face is just fine, Jeff. We just have to find SOMEONE that could tell us what it WAS."

"..." Jeff shrugged, and petted Smile's head, as the dog lays his head on his knee.

"Kids, we're here!" Their father announced excitedly, as he stopped the car and turned off the ignition. "Let's get our luggage and check the place out."

"I wonder who lived here before us...Maybe it was a witch that would brew potions in a big, black cauldron in the basement and took trick-or-treaters into her house on Halloween night to EAT them~" Jeff teased his brother, as he grabbed his suitcase.

Lou rolled his eyes and grabbed his bags, opening his car door; earning a laugh from Jeff.

Jeff lifted Smile, helping him down from the car. "C'mon, boy. Maybe if we're lucky, we could find a lucky charm in my new room and hide before dad tosses it."

Smile barked happily, as he ran up to the door with the family and sniffed around the building.

Lou walked up to his father, trying to hide a concerned look. "Dad, where's my room?"

"Upstairs, son. Yours and Jeff's are next to each other, isn't that nice?"

"...Yeah...That sounds great..." Lou said under his breath, walking upstairs.

He walked up through the old house and found his new room; next to Jeff's and across from his parents' and the first bathroom. With each step, the floor would creak creepily, and echos of his steps were heard.

'Probably just echoing because it's an empty house...Once we've filled it up with our stuff and make it into a home, it won't be so creepy...I hope..' He thought to himself, as he placed his bag onto his new floor; tan carpet.

The room was white, yet dark from age and dust. It looked like it had been CENTURIES since anyone had lived in the house, so Lou cautiously opened drawers, his new closet and looked under the bed.

"Hm...This isn't so bad...Just needs some...Paint, a-and cleaning..."

"Boo!" Jeff grabbed his brother's back, hugging him from behind. He giggled when Lou jumped from surprise. "See a monster yet?"

Lou rolled his eyes and gained a sly look. "Yep, he's on top of me right now and yelling 'boo' like a five year old."

"Haha, screw you..." Jeff laughed, as he hopped off.

"Oh no you don't, you're not leaving this room without ONE OF THESE!" Lou playfully grabbed Jeff, pulling him into a headlock and giving him a noogie.

Jeff fought back playfully, trying to break from Lou's grip. "Oh God, you're strong! Hahaha, let me go!"

Lou laughed, playfully pushing Jeff away. "Pretty cool house, eh, bro?"

"Eh, I guess...Whatever makes dad happy, and keeps mom quiet about "safety in a bad neighborhood"...Eesh, remember when she made us wear bubble-wrap UNDER our CLOTHES? Jeez..."

"Hehe, I know...Dumb, right?" He nervously hid bubble-wrap under his shirt. "...So...What'cha wanna do to celebrate getting a new house?"

Jeff shrugged. "See if dad would let us go get pizza for dinner?"

"Sure, I'm STARVING...We haven't eaten since lunch."

"Let's go," Jeff happily lead his brother downstairs, and they chuckled when they saw their dog asleep by the fireplace, snoring much like how a wino would.

They walked up to their parents, who were setting up the kitchen; their mother putting dishes away, and their father inspecting the fridge and freezer.

"Alright honey, almost done with inspection...Looks pretty clean so far..."

"Dear, it looks like this house hasn't been owned in CENTURIES, I'll clean the kitchen later. Don't worry."

"Sorry, guess I'm just a big germaphobe." Wendell chuckled. "My mother would always have my two brothers and I to help her with the cleaning because she had very bad Asthma...I hope my dad's helping her through it all in their new home they just bought outta town from here."

Michele rolled her eyes at her husband's mention of his mother, as they didn't have a great past with one another.

"Dad, can Lou and I get pizza for dinner? We're starving." Jeff asked.

"Jeff, as your mother would insist, we should eat a bit healthier now that we don't live near all that junk in our OLD neighborhood."

"Actually hon, I think they should do it. We're in a new house, and I haven't gotten the chance to go shopping to fill our new refrigerator yet." Michele said, placing another stack of plates inside the cabinet.

"Alright. Here's three dollars; it should cover a large pepperoni pizza, plus tax...You kids have fun and be safe." Wendell handed Jeff and Lou the mentioned money.

"And stay warm!" Michele happily added, as Jeff put the white hood of his sweatshirt up, with his brother putting on his gray and black striped scarf.

Jeff and Lou went outside the house, walking up to the car. "You think Dad would mind if we borrowed the car?"

"I...Wouldn't take any chances on that, Jeff. Dad loves that car almost more than he does Mom. It's weird, it's like a second wife for him. Heh."

Jeff chuckled with his brother. "Right. Dude, you're SO lucky that you're seventeen. Next year, you get to move OUT if you wanted to...I have only two more years with them, and I'm a free man. I love our parents, but come ON...How long can we live in our parents' house without people raising eyebrows, y'know? I got my license a month ago, you got yours last year...And NEITHER of us even have our own CAR yet..."

"I guess you have a point, bro...But still, our parents will miss us and I kinda like doing chores, it makes me feel like I'm helping. Plus, since we're in our new town...Who knows what might happen? Criminals? I'm glad we have a couple more years so we can help keep an eye out for them."

"Me too. You're right...Jeez, now I feel like an ass saying that stuff before."

"Don't, let's just get dinner and relax." Lou replied, walking with Jeff down 2.6 miles miles down from their house. They were about a mile close to the local Mall, which had a Pizza Hut in the food court.

"The city's actually kinda...Pretty at night, huh? I like all the lights from the buildings."

"Yep, I remember when Dad actually LET Mom drive the car on his days off and he'd work on "his novel" at home...But we'd check out the lights of the buildings as little kids."

"When did YOU figure out Dad's "novel" was a cover-up for drinking with his friends in the basement to play cards?"

"Since I was seven, you?"

"When I was six," Jeff chuckled. "Why does he HIDE it though? To convince Mom that he doesn't drink, or what?"

Lou shrugged. He was about to say something, but was cut off by the sound of motorcycle motors in the distance which grew louder by every second.

"Hey guys, check out the dumbasses! Hoodie and scarfy. Awww, I think they're looking for a cheap motel to move their make-out session to!" A male voice called out, which was followed by two guys laughing. The male's voice sounded like he was from Brooklyn.

Jeff stopped in his tracks. "Oh look, it's a jerk-off that can't mind his own business, and can't tell that the guy with the scarf is my BROTHER!" He mocked the voice.

The motorcycles stopped, as the guys walked over to Jeff and Lou. "You REALLY like to run your mouth, kid. I like that.."

It was the local high school bully with his cronies. He wears a black leather motorcycle jacket, dark blue jeans which were torn on the legs as if the bully was in a struggle with a paper shredder or something and brown biker boots, which echoed hauntingly with each step he would take. He has brown, spiky hair which looks greasy from hair gel and he held a cigarette, as he puffs some smoke from his mouth.

"Whoa-ho-hooo~ What do we have here?" The bully looked at Jeff with a taunting smirk. "Nice makeup kid, did your mommy do it for ya?"

Jeff looked at him, his anger growing. His mouth forms into a smirk, as he stared the bully in the eyes. "Actually, I was BORN like this. It's a rare skin condition called "Albinism". If you weren't so much of a motoCROSS-DRESSER, you'd KNOW that..." He riposted.

Lou snickered at Jeff's pun, but he's suddenly pulled backwards by his scarf. It was one of the two cronies the bully had brought along with him.

"Something funny?" The crony snarled.

Lou's thoughts were now battling; was he to fear for his safety, or attempt to fight back?

The bully pulled out what looks like a chain and grabs each end of it with both hands and spreads it in a threatening manner. "Alright, since you two bozos are new in town, lemme introduce ourselves. Guy holding scarfy's Manny,"

Jeff looked over to Manny, who was holding Lou up by his scarf. He wears a dirty white t-shirt with shredded sleeves that looked like it hadn't been washed and was re-worn for weeks, black leather pants and no shoes, only socks, which had visible brown stains from God knows what. He has black, unkempt hair, which stood on the top of his head. The sides and back of his hair looked trimmed ironically.

"He's Rick," The bully added, as Jeff and Lou look over to the crony standing next to his motorcycle, holding a belt with a brass skull belt buckle on it and patting it to his left hand threateningly. He wears no shirt, only dark gray sweats and dark green and black colored high tops. He has a shaved head.

"And I'm Seth. Or as you can call me now; your boss. Because if you don't do EVERYTHING I tell ya to do, I'm gonna tie ya up with this chain, and I'll let Rick beat the Hell outta ya with the belt."

Lou looked at Jeff anxiously, not saying a word.

"And what would "everything" include?" Jeff wondered, unfazed by Seth's threats.

"You'll see," Seth answered, as he smirked back. "Aye Manny, let scarfy up. Don't let him go until I say."

Manny nodded, not letting go of Lou's scarf, but loosening his grip so he could stand up.

"And Rick, you keep an eye on freak-face over here. Don't want HIM getting away either..."

Rick looked at Jeff, baring his teeth. "You do ONE stupid thing, and this buckle's going in your head, freak-face."

"Hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa, only *I* do nick-names around here." Seth slapped the back of Rick's head. "You KNOW that! Anyway...Come with me, freak-face."

Jeff followed Seth, as they all were lead to a clothes store inside the Mall. "Alright, freak-face. Here's your job; you distract the crowd as a "regular customer", while the REST of us lift some of the most EXPENSIVE clothes here so we can sell 'em. We've gotta make a profit SOMEHOW, so this should be an easy job for you. Screw it up, and it's time to chain you up for a beating. Capiche?"

"Yeah, I've got'cha. Hope you hurry, the mall's closing and my brother and I were supposed to get pizza for dinner. Our parents are gonna FREAK when we get home."

Seth guffawed. "You're funny, kid. Just wait 'til we find out where you two dumbasses LIVE. We'll "take care" of your parents. Don't worry, I'm a SMOOTH talker..." He chuckled evilly.

"...Alright.." Jeff became concerned at Seth's wording. "Crap, hurry. I see a security guard."

Seth nodded, snapping his finger. He started walking to the back of the store, with the cronies following with Lou in restraints.

'Okay...Don't worry, Jeff...Just get the security guard...But wait, shoplifting at the mall probably just gets a cell in the mall until closing...Dammit, I hope Lou's alright...' Jeff thought to himself. 'Mom and Dad are gonna KILL us when we get home...' He looked around, looking at the crowd who were just minding their own business with their purchases waiting at the cashier's position. He walked around for a while, eventually to the point where he was PACING the store. 'So booored...'

A girl about Jeff's age bumps into him. She wears a black suit jacket that covers a wine red shirt, black leggings and mid-calf lace-up boots. She has a short black bob and light blue eyes. She almost fell to the floor until Jeff instinctively grabbed her hand, pulling her into a "hug" to straighten out her legs. "Thanks, I'm sorry about crashing into you. I think I stepped on your foot, are you al-" She noticed Jeff's face and jumped with eyes widening for a second, until she hides her shock with a smile. "Whoa...Your eyes are really cool."

"...Thanks." Jeff was equally surprised, as someone didn't scream and run away from the sight of his face. "I-I'm Albino, I didn't choose my face to look like this...So many people have made fun of my face and tortured me about it."

"You're not..From here, are you?"

"Nope, just moved in from California with my parents, dog and brother."

"Well here is full of...Strange things, I'd watch out if I were you."

"You're tellin' me," Jeff replied with a slight blush. "I've been researching Salem since I was seven, I actually like it here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, especially the Salem Witch Trials. Anything else I should know about here?"

"Well a lot of those hangings were done in this town, it's hard to tell whether or not they were innocent of witchcraft." She sighed. "I've had ancestors that've been hung here..."

"Really..."

"Yes, and I actually...Well this is kinda hard to explain, but I've actually...Inherited some abilities. It's by blood, cursed from one of the FIRST Arkensaw(s). I can do...Different things."

"Spells?"

"If I wanted to," She answered. "But I kinda...Avoid things like that. I can do natural things, like energize myself by listening to music, and I can also tell if someone's intentions are good or not...It's kinda hard to tell as I've said before, but yes...I probably BELONG here..."

The two shared a chuckle. "Jeffery Woods. Just moved in, and I'm already getting used to this...New place that I call my home."

"I'm Jane Arkensaw, local "witch" of this town. I don't tell many people, but I can sense you mean well...Hey, we've been...Hugging like this for a while. Hehe.." She blushed slightly.

"Oh, sorry!" Jeff let go, as his blush deepened. "I-I was trying to help you up and-"

"I know," Jane said with a sly look. "What brings you to the Mall anyway?"

"It's a LONG story...My brother and I were coming over to pick up pizza for dinner since our parents let us come alone...Then there were these jackasses that started talking trash."

"Oh God," Jane groaned. "It's Seth, isn't it?"

"How'd you know?"

"He goes to the same high school as I do. He's TOTALLY annoying, and his cronies are even worse, just blindly following his EVERY command...It's sickening."

"It sure is, and he's actually robbing the place right now. He told me to keep watch for him, I don't wanna do this, but they have my brother. I have no other choice, they'd tie him up with some chain and break his teeth out with a-"

"Belt buckle?"

"Yeah..."

Jane sighed. "There's a way outta his chains; distraction. If there's a way your brother can get into the-"

Lou came running out the back of the store as fast as he could. "Jeff! Help!"

"What happened?" Jeff asked.

"I said I had to go to the bathroom so I could escape. Manny was standing outside the stall. I jumped him after slamming the door open into him and made a break for it."

"Whoa-ho~ Didn't know you had it in you, bro."

"Yeah, yeah, we've gotta hurry because-" Lou was cut off, as a chain was lassoed around his ankle, and he was now being dragged onto the floor.

"Well well, scarfy tried to book it," Seth smirked. "Not on MY watch...You work for ME now, Louie boy~ You know what I do to traitors?"

"Let me go, I don't want to BE here!" Lou demanded.

"So you finally grow a pair thinking you can stand up to me?" Seth chuckled evilly. "Well suit yourself...Manny, choke him by the scarf."

Manny did as he was told, grabbing the back of Lou's scarf, which choked him.

Seth pulled the cigarette from his mouth, puffing smoke and cracked his knuckles. "Time to make you MINE...You'll have THIS...For the rest of your life, Scarfy~" He pressed the cigarette onto the middle of his forehead, earning a scream.

"HEY! Let him go, jackass!" Jeff tackled Seth, as the cigarette fell, burning Manny's foot.

Manny screamed, letting Lou go, as he checked his foot.

Lou punched Manny's head and went to help Jeff, who was punching Seth in the jaw repeatedly. He kicked Seth in the scrotum, earning a shriek.

"ALL OF YOU STOP!" Jane yelled. "Seth, we've ALL had enough of your crap, let Jeff and his brother go!"

Seth started laughing, despite being in pain. "Aww, freak-face has found a bride...Isn't it JUUUST DISGUSTING? Hahaa."

Jeff kicked Seth in the back, Rick got the belt out, aiming the buckle at Jeff's head, only to get Jane's foot into the chest. "I said...ENOUGH!"

Lou checked his forehead. "Jeez, I hope this isn't PERMANENT..."

"HEY! What'chu kids doing here?!" The security guard came dashing to the group.

"They attacked me, sir! Honest!" Seth cried fake tears. "They all ganged up on me and my friends. We were just hangin' out..."

"Seth, shut your mouth." The security guard insisted. "I said that if you started ONE more scam, the authorities would be involved. You've left me NO other choice. Refusal of arrest, attempted shoplifting, under-aged smoking, AND starting fights with other customers."

"Aww maaan...Not the cops..." Seth groaned.

"And the REST of you...The law does NOT promote violence of ANY form. ALL of you, up against the wall. Now!"

Jeff, Jane, Lou and the others put their hands up against the wall, spreading their legs.

"Okay...Drop ALL weapons this instant."

Seth dropped his chain, and Rick threw his belt to the ground. Manny pulled a switchblade out his pocket and tossed it to the ground.

"The authorities will be here in five minutes, I've been holding the walkie-talkie speaker button down while all this craziness was HAPPENING." The security guard said, letting go of the said button.

Jeff secretly looked at Jane with a small smile. "This isn't SO bad, right?" He whispered.

Jane shook her head. "I don't know, I've never BEEN in this kind of situation."

"Me neither, but still. At least WE didn't have weapons. Who knows what would happen if we DID? Hehe."

"That's enough out of BOTH of you," The security guard dictated. "Mall fights are very COMMON here because kids like YOU ALL live here. Where's the decency?"

'Maybe it's somewhere the sun doesn't shine...' Jeff thought to himself.

"Either way, since this is white hood, striped scarf and Jane's first time getting CAUGHT doing this...There's a choice the cops will give you; community service, or a month in juvy."

Lou's eyes widened, as he looked at Jeff and Jane with a worried expression.

"We'll do community service, officer." Jeff answered.

"I said shut your mouth, you'll speak only when spoken to."

"Sorry."

"DAAAAH!" The security guard groaned with annoyance. "Just wait 'til the police get here."

Minutes passed, and the teenagers were bored out their minds.

Jeff tapped his fingers against the wall, Lou was biting his lip from anxiety, Jane was just looking at the wall...And the bullies looked as if they were planning something...

Seth nodded at Rick and Manny, as a couple police officers enter the store.

"Okay, what seems to be the problem?" The first officer queried.

"These kids were fighting, and Seth-"

Those were the only words the security guard could say before getting kicked in the leg by Seth.

"OOOW! There's THAT too..." The guard grabbed Seth by the shoulder, pulling him closer to the two officers who put handcuffs on his wrists.

"Community service AND a month in juvy for you, MacDonald." The first officer spoke up.

"Do I ever get private time in my room? I've kinda got something I don't want my parents to see in my dresser." Seth looked a bit worried.

"You shouldn't want your parents wanting to witness THIS, let ALONE whatever's in your dresser, kid." The second officer coldly replied.

"..."Nakkid Chickz Magazine", isn't it?" Lou smirked.

Seth blushed heavily from embarrassment. "...Yeeeah..."

"Let's go, pervert." The second officer grabbed Seth shoulders, leading him into the police car.

"You two are coming with the SAME sentence. We're taking you boys AND your "leader" to your PARENTS' houses so you'll actually learn a lesson." The first officer said, putting handcuffs also onto the wrists of Rick and Manny.

"I believe community service should be the only punishment for these three, they mean no harm. Heck, they're the only ones without WEAPONS..." The security guard looked over to Jeff, Jane and Lou.

"Community service for a week since you hadn't possessed weapons, nor attacked an officer." The first police officer spoke, exiting with Rick and Manny.

The security guard nodded, as he went back to his usual patrol. "You kids stay outta trouble, or you'll be doing BIG TIME..." He exited the store.

"What happened to the clothes?" Jane wondered, as she got off the wall with Jeff and Lou doing the same.

"They dropped them in the back of the store when I made a break for it," Lou answered. "Crap, our parents are gonna KILL us, Jeff..."

"Don't worry about it, let's just say the Mall was PACKED, and that we had to stand in line for HOURS..." Jeff responded. "They DON'T need to know that we got in trouble with the cops and that we're sentenced to community service."

"You mean LIE to them?"

"Don't think of it as LYING...Think of it as "if they knew what happened, our heads would be nailed to the shower wall by Dad so we'd drown even though we'd have severed bodies."..." Jeff countered.

"Good point..."

Jane looked curiously at Jeff. "Well that's a...Different way to look at things."

"What can I say? I'm a "different" kinda guy..." The tone of Jeff's voice seemed smooth, as if he were flirting with her.

She looked at him with a sly look. "I like different..."

"Then you're gonna LOVE me..." Jeff spoke softly, putting a hand to Jane's cheek and leaning into her, tilting his head to the side.

She blushed, as she closed her eyes and puckered her lips.

"We've gotta GO, Jeff! Mom and Dad are gonna KILL us..." Lou grabbed Jeff shoulder, dragging him out the store.

"Sorry about this...No worries, we can continue tomorrow if I see you again~" Jeff called out.

Jane innocently wave "goodbye" with her blush still present. "Good luck with your parents, Jeff..."

Jeff giggled from the experience, as Lou was still dragging him. "What the Hell man, I was gonna score..." He spoke with a relaxed tone, as if he were in a trance because of the girl he had met minutes ago.

"Yeah, what's more important; happy parents while we go off clean, or "Psycho" shower scene like YOU just said?"

"Aaa-HA! I KNEW you watched that with me and didn't chicken out under the blanket like you said when we were eight..."

Lou shook his head in annoyance. "We'd better HURRY, Pizza Hut's about to close. You remember where the food court was?"

"A mile from here,"

"Dang it, we'd better run. Can I trust you NOT to run back to Jane instead of doing something that WOULDN'T piss our parents off?"

"Pssh," Jeff laughed. "I don't think they'd EVER be as pissed as the time they caught us WATCHING "Psycho" when we were eight...Hahahaa."

"Alright, smartass, better help me beat the foot-traffic then."

"You had FUN watching "Psycho" with me, aaadmit iiiit..." Jeff smirked.

"Yeah, whatever. I did, c'mon, let's go!" Lou let Jeff's shoulder go, as Jeff started shoving random people out the way.

"Sorry, excuse us! Parents about to ground us if we don't have dinner right now..." Lou apologized to the crowd.

"FOUND IT!" Jeff yelled out, starting to run at full speed.

"Wait for me, man!" Lou ran after Jeff to Pizza Hut, which was closing in one hour.

"Hurry up and tell the cashier what we want~" Jeff chuckled, as his brother finally ran up to him.

Lou was running out of air, as he breathed heavily while trying to catch his breath. "We need a large pepperoni to go, p-please..."

"Comin' right up," The cashier accepted the money Lou gave her and went back to the kitchen for twenty minutes. She came back with the pizza, and handed Jeff a four-pack of PEPSI-Cola. "That PEPSI-Cola's free tonight, it's on special."

"Perfect, thank you so much." Lou was finally caught up with his breath, as he carried the pizza box. "Let's go, Jeff."

The two left the Mall, walking back to their house. Everything seemed okay at first...But then, Lou saw something at the corner of his eye; the thing he saw in the afternoon. His eyes widened in fear, as he looked at Jeff. "J-Jeeeff?"

"What?"

"L-Look..." Lou pointed to a tree, which the tall, slender figure stood by.

Jeff squinted his eyes for a second or two, and saw it; the figure that seemed somehow familiar to him. "Oh my Lord..."

"Y-Yeah...That's t-the thing I was trying to tell you about earlier..."

"What the Hell IS that thing?"

The figure's "face" became fuzzed with static fury, as he heard them speaking of him.

"RUUUN!" Lou started running off with Jeff. "J-Jeff...If we don't make it...I want you to know something..."

"What is it, brother?"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT I HAVE A CIGARETTE BURN ON MY DAMN FOREHEAD!"

Jeff felt guilty, but couldn't help but laugh from anxiety.

Lou snickered with Jeff, as he saw him trying to hold back a laugh.

The two laughed it off, as the figure seemed to be following them...

"And also...You're right...I DID have fun watching "Psycho" with you when we were kids, man. Sorry that I had to yank you away from Jane..."

"Nah, I'm over that. I'll see her again. It's not THAT big-a town, y'know?"

"Yeah...Thanks, man."

"Dude, that thing's following us..."

The figure teleported to a different tree that was close to the brothers.

"OH MY GOD, MAN! THAT THING CAN TELEPORT ITSELF!"

"CRAAAP!" Jeff grabbed Lou's shoulder and started running back home.

Lou held the pizza box with one hand as tightly as he could. "I SEE OUR HOUSE! HAHAHAHAAAAA!"

"SWEET!" Jeff ran up to the door, knocking fast. "MOM! DAD! OPEN UP, WE'RE HOME AND THERE'S SOMETHING OUT HERE!"

The figure teleported right up to Lou, and leaned his "face" in to stare at the teen.

"J-J-Jeeeff..." Lou was close to urinating his pants at the sight of the figure.

The figure's face turns to nothing but static, like the image you'd expect the television to make if it weren't in the correct setting. A static noise came from him, as he spoke no words. Just stared at Lou. He then reached his hand out, and touched Lou's forehead.

Jeff slowly turned his head to look at Lou, and his eyes widen. "W-What the Hell?"

Wendell opened the door with a stern look. "Where have you kids BEEN?"

The figure disappeared with a static sound when the light touched his "face". Neither Jeff OR Lou could respond, as they were more concerned about the supernatural entity disappearing the way it did at that instant.

"WELL?!" Wendell wasn't amused with no response from either of his sons. "This story oughta be GOOD..." He moved out the way so the two could enter their home.

Jeff and Lou ran straight inside, freaked out over the creature. They breathed heavily, as they placed the pizza and soda onto the table, with their mother also possessing a face that didn't look pleased.

"Where WERE you boys? You were supposed to "be right back", remember?"

"M-Mom...W-We..." Lou coughed. "Were waiting in line, but then there were robbers that got arrested. They had...Guns, and it was REALLY scary. Before the cops showed up, everybody had to get down onto the ground...I'm glad the criminals are gone, the police said they've been sentenced a YEAR in jail for terrorist threats."

Michele ran up to the brothers, removing the scarf and putting down the hood. "O-Oh my gosh! Were you boys hurt? A-Are you alright?"

"Yes Mom, we're FINE..." Jeff rolled his eyes, earning Lou's elbow to his arm. "Ack...I mean...Yes, we're okay, Mom."

"Y-Yeah, we're okay, Mom."

"Oh thank Heavens, I KNEW it was a BAD idea to move here with all of its magic and evil spirit conjuring! Wendell!"

"Yes, honey?" Wendell met eyes with Jeff when he walks into the room.

"T-The boys were in a r-robbery! They had to stay low onto the floor before police came by!"

"What?!"

"I know!" Michele began crying. "I'm j-just glad they're alright..." She sniffed.

"Why didn't you boys SAY so at the door? Do you realize how big a robbery IS?"

"D-Dad, you were mad a-and we were at a lose of words because we were afraid they'd break outta the police car and come KILL us or something..." Jeff lied.

"You still should've said something. I don't care if it was you running for an ICE CREAM truck...You tell your mother and I where you're going to be."

"Yes Dad..." Jeff looked down.

"Alright, now that THAT little talk's done...Who's hungry for some pizza?" Wendell lightened up a bit, pulling out a chair for his wife and opening the pizza box.

So the first day in the Woods' new house is done, and it was fun...But now it's time for emotions to churn, as this tale takes a dark turn...


	2. Chapter 2

The next day...

Jeff and Lou were walking downstairs for their first day of school in Salem, and they were still a bit shaken up from the previous day. They were dressed in the same clothes, as they had went to bed that way because they practically dropped into their beds due to their experience.

"Man, how did the school transfer thing work THIS fast? I kinda wanna sleep after yesterday..." Jeff yawned.

"Same here...But at the same time, I'm kinda GLAD we have school. Last night was HORRIBLE, I had nightmares about what happened at the Mall, and then stuff about that thing that was watching me...It was REALLY freaky. I wonder WHY that thing was watching us..."

"Maybe it was bored and wanted some entertainment by watching OUR crazy life," Jeff chuckled."Plenty of THAT to go around.."

"Hehe, right." Lou agreed, as their mother hands him a piece of buttered toast.

"There you go boys, your favorites. Good morning~" Michele greeted with a kiss to the top of each teen's head. She handed Jeff a Styrofoam cup filled with cereal and milk.

"Thanks Mom." Jeff licked his lips, as he drinks some of the milk.

Lou nodded and swallowed a bite of his toast. "Yeah, thank you, Mom."

Michele handed Jeff and Lou each a paper bag which contained their lunch for school. "There you go, I packed your lunches. Lou, no orange this time because last time I spoke with your doctor, he said you may have a slight allergy to them."

Lou nodded, opening the door for Jeff and walking out.

"I love you boys!" Michele called out to them before the door was shut by Smile, who had unintentionally closed the door with his paw.

Lou straightened his scarf, as Jeff put up the hood of his sweatshirt. Snow started lightly falling, as the brothers observed the snowflakes.

"Huh, weird. Didn't expect it to snow," Jeff commented.

Lou shrugged. "I didn't see it in the weather's forecast last night."

Jeff looked into the distance, waiting for the school bus to arrive. He sighed out of boredom as the snow was beginning to pile up.

"I H-Hope t-the bus gets here quicker, I-I'm g-getting cold..." Lou said, wrapping his arms around himself for warmth.

Jeff turned his head to face a tree, where he saw a familiar face...

He smiled, as the girl he had met last night waved with flirty fingers. He waved back in the same fashion, as his brother looked at him funny.

Lou raised an eyebrow, then looked at the tree as well and groaned. 'Here comes that girl again, I hope Jeff can stay CONCENTRATED with her around...'

Jeff walked over to the tree, and greeted Jane. "Hey, haven't seen you since last night. You live around here?" That was the last thing Lou could hear before Jeff climbed up the tree, and helped Jane up so they could speak with one another.

Lou rolled his eyes, turning his focus back to the street, as he looked up and down for the bus. 'Not even that THING in the woods was THIS annoying as that girl taking Jeff into the trees to talk...' He thought. His head started hurting a bit, somewhat throbbing at the forehead. "Great, now my head hurts. Probably from the cold..." He puts his fingers up to his temples and began rubbing in a circular motion.

The bus was running a bit late, and Lou was getting worried about the figure returning to do whatever he wanted the previous night. 'C'mon, stupid bus...Pleeeaase hurry...'

"Fine, if he's blowing me off to talk with someone, I'll do the same. Even if I have to make them UP...Hey, how are you doing?" Lou spoke, as if someone were standing next to him.

"I'm doing just fine, just standing here, waiting for the bus..." He made his voice sound a bit darker so it wouldn't feel "as weird" talking to "himself". The "other person" was characterized as a much darker being, who wasn't interested in talking with others. He had his hands in his pockets, and looked down with an annoyed expression.

Lou stood back upright, taking his hands out his pockets and smiled. "Really? Me too, crazy coincidence, right?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

"I'm Lou, what's your name?"

"Sully."

"That's a cool name. Sully-"

"You made me up because you're jealous of your brother hanging out with his new girlfriend, didn't you?"

"N-Nooo...I'm not jealous." Lou crossed his arms. "He can hang out with whomever he WANTS, I'm j-just FINE with it...And she's not his GIRLFRIEND...Yet..." He looked down with a sigh.

"It's okay to admit your insecurities,"

"It's just that...He's not JUST my brother. He's also my best friend. We'd hang together ALL the time, and we used to play together a lot as kids. I would defend him when the jerks at school would bully him about his skin and eyes...And they'd OF COURSE hate me for defending my own brother...He was really the only friend I had..."

"It's natural to find interest in platonic friends, Lou. Hell, you might find someone YOU like in this new school we're attending."

"I..." Lou sighed. "I guess you're right..."

"Besides, how long HAS he known her? By the looks of it, I would say not long..." Sully looked up. "Uhh...Nevermind. Looks like he's known her for a WHILE..."

"W-What do you mean?" Lou asked.

Sully simply pointed to the tree, as Lou looked up and saw Jeff kissing Jane's cheek, with her doing the same.

"W-What the Hell?!" Lou had the expression fused with anger, jealousy and anxiety.

"Let it AAALLL out, Lou..."

"I-I'll...Talk with him LATER..." Lou looked back at the road and saw the bus driving up.

The bus' door opened, as the driver was heard calling out to Lou. "Hey kid, you comin' or what?"

Lou looked back at Jeff and Jane, whom were jumping off the tree after one another, with Jeff catching her.

They walked back, smiling at one another. "You were SO good~" Jeff said.

"You were better~" Jane replied.

"And I'VE been standing here, waiting for the bus by mySELF..." Lou retorted. "Look, the bus is here..."

"Ladies first~" Jeff allowed Jane to walk in front of him, earning a giggle.

Jeff followed, earning gasps, and even some faint screams from the back of the bus. "Ehh, don't act like you've never seen a FREAK before..."

"You're not a freak, Jeff~" Jane sat down.

Lou rolled his eyes, as he walked in last with the doors shutting. He found two empty seats and sat down, motioning for Jeff to sit into the seat next to him.

Jeff didn't notice his brother, as he was already sitting next to Jane. To add insult to injury, their seats were next to Lou's spare...

Lou growled to himself from jealousy, he felt as if his brother abandoned him. 'So much for having a best friend-slash-brother...'

"Excuse me," A blonde cheerleader sitting behind Lou called, tapping his shoulder. "Aren't you the one that, like, kicked Seth's rear last night?"

Lou smiled, he was confused at how that story spread so quickly, but he was just glad someone else was speaking with him. "Yes..I had some help, but I certainly did. He burned his cigarette into my forehead, and I had to get back at him."

"Wow, that's, like, SO awesome...You were the guy with the white hoodie, right?"

He felt crushed, as someone would mistake him for his "traitor" of a brother. He sighed. "No, that was my brother. He's sitting right next to me, he's actually wearing the same hoodie as last night."

"He's SO cool, you think you could get me his autograph?"

"...Okay..." Lou hung his head, placing his elbow into his lap and resting his head on his palm. "I'm sure he'd LOVE to have a fan..."

"Super rad! Bring it to me at my locker after my cheer-leading practice, I'll be there." The cheerleader sat back in her seat in ecstasy

"How DID that story spread so quickly?"

"Duuuuh, liiike, the whole SCHOOL saw him at his house with the police. Liiike, the cop told everyone to get lost, and even threatened to, like, ARREST someone...The meanie threw Seth's pillow at my head because I wanted to, like, SEE what was going ooon. Rude, right? Anyway, liiike, Seth and his friends are going on trial right NOW as we're talking...They're probably going to juvy again."

"He's BEEN to juvy before? ...Why doesn't THAT surprise me?"

"I don't know...He signed my boobs once, so yeah. I'm, liiike, really close to him. I hope he and I can, liiike, date sometime. EEEE~" She squealed with excitement.

Lou gained a face of disgust, and didn't respond back.

After a few minutes of an awkward, one-sided chatting session, the bus stopped, and the doors opened. A few students wore faces of fear when they saw Jeff's face, so some were rather hasty in running out and into the school's doors.

The cheerleader scoffed when Lou walked out the bus without a word. "Ruuuude!"

Jeff, Lou and Jane walked inside the doors, looking around for their first classroom together.

Lou walked ahead, trying to get away from the two, as he goes down the hallway in solitude. Well, not entirely...

"So Sully, you were saying?"

"Look, I HATE talking at times...But if you INSIST...I think you'll find a girl YOU like, not to spite Jeff, just find one...Or you might NOT. Who the Hell knows?"

"Right,"

"You don't believe me?"

"Excuse me, new guy...Why are you talking with yourself?" A random "prep" queried. He wears a red vest with white shirt underneath, grey dress pants and brown penny loafers.

Lou threw his arms up defensively, looking shocked that someone had actually heard him. "Uhhh...N-No reason. J-Just thinking out loud. Not talking with myself, not crazy..." He chuckled nervously.

The prep just shrugged and walked past him, muttering "What a freak..."

"Phewph, that was close..." Lou spoke under his breath. "Sully, you still there?"

Lou rolled his eyes, as he "became" Sully once more. "You didn't have to do that..."

"Do what?"

"Hide me like that. I'm a person too, so WHAT if anyone hears us talking with one another?"

"We really DO have a lot in common, don't we?" Lou smiled, walking to his History class.

The monotonous school day progressed as any other would, and it was finally 3:00pm...

Jeff, Jane and Lou walked outside the school, and were greeted by one of the police officers from the previous night.

"Alright you kids, time for work." The officer said, opening the police car doors.

Jeff let out a groan, which made Lou smile a bit. 'Finally, an inconvenience for the TRAITOR...'

The officer drove them to the back of the mall, which was LITTERED with graffiti and garbage. There were buckets of bleach and towels sitting on the ground, just waiting to be used.

The officer handed the students orange jumpsuits and rubber gloves, telling them to wear them over their clothes. He stood with his back to the car and crossing his arms. "The quicker you get this done, the quicker you can get home. You're gonna get help in a moment, Seth and his gang of troublemakers are cleaning the bathrooms."

"Greeeeaaat." Jeff groaned under his breath, and grabbed a towel with bleach, as the others did the same.

"And I'll be keeping a GOOD eye on you all too." The officer watched over them, much like a vulture to a corpse in the desert.


	3. Chapter 3

Three hours into work, and the three were ALMOST done.

"Hey, you kids are quick. Almost done, just a FEW more spots, and you can start on picking up the litter."

"No need, officer. I've already cleaned it all. While Jeff and Jane were working on graffiti, I figured that since there are three of us, I could help us finish faster." Lou answered, looking pleased with himself.

"Good thinkin', kid. Now THAT'S why I think you all have hope. It's such a shame there's characters like Seth and his criminal FRIENDS that stroll around and try to cause chaos."

Seth walked out the bathroom, also donning an orange jumpsuit. He noticed Jeff, and glared at him. "Oh great, it's Face-freak..."

"Hey Lou, it's the jerk-off that got us working out here..." Jeff rolled his eyes. "I like the outfit, suits you better than the jacket..."

"Buzz off, ya talkin' piece of paper." Seth growled. "If only YOU had kept quiet, I would've been RICH right now while laughin' it up..."

"Actually, the security guard did his job and checked where senseless violence was present." Lou corrected, losing his anxiety towards Seth, since he knew he was safe from weaponry.

Seth growled once more, grabbing the smug teen's collar. "Who asked ya, Scarfy? It's bad enough we're STUCK here...But now I have to sit here and listen to you CORRECTING me?"

"Alright, that's enough!" Lou's voice became darker, as if he were pretending to speak with himself as Sully. He yanked out Seth's grasp, and pinned him to the wall by the shoulders. "Leave Lou alone before I rip your uvula out your throat and shove it into your eyeball!"

Seth looked shocked and slightly in fear at Lou's change in persona. "Y-Yeah, you've got it. Don't needa tell ME twice...Hey, sorry about your friend and everything last night. We got off the wrong-"

Lou grabbed Seth's throat, lifting the bully up against the wall. "I don't care about HIM. Your friend tied Lou up with a chain, and then YOU burned YOUR cigarette into his head! I don't care WHAT you're sorry for. You doing something stupid like that again, and I won't give you the PRIVILEGED of making a mistake. Got it?"

"G-Got it, I've got it!" Seth gagged from Lou's iron grip, struggling to escape. "CAPISCE! Got'cha, I won't mess with ya again! Just lemme down!"

With that request, he was dropped to the ground. He fell onto his side, coughing from his previous state.

"Pathetic..." Lou growled under his breath, walking past Jeff and Jane. "Hey Officer, I've done MY part for the community, can I go now?"

"All I needed," The officer nodded. "Come back tomorrow with y-your friends."

"Hmph..." Lou took his jumpsuit off, tossing it onto the hood of the police car and walking off.

"..." Jeff and Jane looked at one another, then to the officer.

"You kids can go too, you're done for the day. Seth and his hoodlums will stay here until afternoon, then they're all going back behind bars."

Jeff and Jane took their jumpsuits off, and walked over to Lou.

"Hey Lou, what HAPPENED over there? That was actually kinda...Awesome." Jeff wondered with interest.

Lou looked at Jeff with his same, cold glare. "Things happen..." He said, walking ahead.

Once he knew he was alone, Lou began to speak with Sully. "Sully...Why did you do that?"

"That punk needed to learn whom he was messing with," Sully answered simply. "You wouldn't have done it."

"I could've. I just prefer to b-"

"I know, I know. "Be rational"..." Sully quoted in a mocking manner. "You play peacemaker, I'LL be realistic."

It was a long walk home, but Lou finally made it. Jeff was walking Jane home, but Lou preferred independence, considering HE wasn't even sure if Sully was real or not at this point.

He opened the door using the key he had inside his pocket, and was greeted by Smile Dog knocking him aback, licking at his face. "Hehehe, easy, Smile. Hehehe, I missed you too, boy." Lou petted Smile's head, and headed for the stairs.

"Hi sweetie, how was your day at school?" Michele asked with her usual gleeful tone.

"It was...Interesting, Mom." Lou answered. "I-I kinda have something I need to go over in my room..."

"Oh okay," Michele then picked something up from the kitchen counter, holding it up for her son to see. "Guess whaaat~? You and your brother have been invited to a birthday party for Taylor, Mrs. Frehley's little boy. Cute little guy, he's turning six tomorrow."

Lou's eyes widened with anxiety when he hears this, and grins nervously. "W-When's the party?"

"Three-o-clock, dear. Perfect timing too, you'll be out of school, we'll all go and it'll be FUN."

'Oh shoot...'

'Don't worry, Lou. You'll be fine.' Sully's voice echoed inside Lou's head, due to his habit of talking with himself.

'Sully?'

'What? I've spoke before...'


	4. Chapter 4

9:00 PM.

Jeff finally came home hours later after walking Jane home from their date. He greeted his mother, and excused himself to his room.

'Lou's been acting REALLY weird lately, I wonder what's up with him. It's not realistic to just have a sudden change of character like that...' He thought to himself.

Lou sat on his bed, wondering the same thing. "Sully...Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"I mean a serious one..."

Sully groaned. "Go ahead."

"Not to be rude, but how DID you come to life? Like in my head, I mean..."

"You don't know?"

"No, I don't. D-Did I ALWAYS have you, and didn't know it?"

"That thing from the woods gave me life inside your head, Lou. Sucker's trying to brainwash us probably..."

"W-WHAT?!"

"Shh," Sully put his finger up to Lou's mouth. "You're going to attract attention to us. Nobody must know."

Lou narrowed his eyes. "I need help. Y-You can't POSSIBLY be real."

Sully angrily slammed him onto the bed, with arm around Lou's chest. "Don't you EVER...Say that again. There is NOTHING wrong with you. Can't you see? I was obviously put inside your head for a REASON...Maybe it's because you're too much of a wuss to stand up for yourself."

A tear formed inside Lou's eye from Sully's sudden hostility towards HIM.

Jeff pondered, laying back onto his pillow, in a relaxed, yet thoughtful position. 'Maybe Lou finally toughened up?...Then why would he say something like "you hurt LOU"? Has he started speaking in third-person for some reason?'

"I'm here to HELP you," Sully told Lou, arm still around his chest. "I can become ANYONE'S nightmare. You should REMEMBER that."

Lou nodded, closing his eyes to hide his mixture of fear and sadness, as he started a shake a bit.

'I can't ask Mom or Dad, or else Lou would be sent to the asylum for sure...' Jeff gasped, reaching for a box that was beside his bed. He pulled out his copy of "Psycho" by Robert Block, flipping through the pages. 'Ah-ha...Could Lou have a second personality?'

"Now," Sully began. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing..." Lou shook, now worried about Sully's existence. "Nothing's wrong...N-Now that I have YOU, S-Sully..."

"Good. Trust me, Lou...I can change your frickin' life..."

Jeff eyed his book, re-reading all the essential parts from it. 'Well...Norman was traumatized from jealousy, and killed his mother's boyfriends, and finally her. Then gained her sense of knowledge, and spoke with himself so often, up to the point of BECOMING his mother deep within his mind. I wonder if Lou could be suffering the same thing because of that THING we saw in the woods...'

"Sully, please can we just leave everybody alone?"

"No. Those people caused so many problems for you in the past...They MUST be stopped."

"Those aren't even the same people, Sully. PLEASE leave them alone. They did NOTHING to either of us."

Sully didn't want to hear that, as he expressed how HE felt by harshly slapping Lou across the face. "I'm starting to believe you ARE crazy!"

Lou sniffed, with hot tears of anger running down his face. "I-I'm starting to think so too. I-I need to be locked up or something. So you don't make me hurt ANYONE."

"What?!" Sully got up, locking the door, and throwing the key under the bed. "I'll show you what happens in there..."

"Sully, w-what are you-" Lou was interrupted by him putting his hand over his own mouth, and throwing himself down to the floor.

"YOU THINK I'M CRAZY?!" Sully opened the closet, pulling Lou inside and shutting the door.

"What was that?" Jeff asked himself, getting off his bed.

He grabbed his doorknob, but was interrupted by his mother calling from downstairs, telling him to brush his teeth, and to get to bed. "Yes, Mom!" He called back.

Just then, there was a strange flash outside his window. His eyes widened, as he ran straight to it. "What the Hell was that?"

The figure from the previous day popped from nowhere, with its blank face staring back into Jeff's.

Jeff's heart was practically beating out his chest, anxiety filling his core. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He just froze with fear.

The figure lifted a finger, pointing to Jeff's door, making him look. With that, Jeff heard it lock itself. He looked back, to see the figure pointing at the window, making it open on its own. "Do not be afraid. I mean no harm, just here to do my work." He spoke with a deep, dark, and somewhat echoing voice. It started to enter the room, still seemingly stare at Jeff creepily, despite not having a "face".

Jeff screamed, jumping backwards to see what he could use to hit the figure with. He grabbed his copy of "Psycho", and threw it at its head.

"OW!" The figure growled, now with his face illuminating with static. "Foolish child. I'm not going to hurt you."

"W-What kind of "business" are you here for?! A-And what did you do to my brother?!" Jeff demanded.

The figure chuckled. "I did nothing but prepare you brother for his new position. Now, I must aid YOUR preparation as well. Since you know of what I've done, I must bring life to YOUR inner insanity QUICKER."

"Who ARE you?! A-And get the Hell AWAY from m-"

Jeff was cut off by the figure growing tentacles from its back, and grabbing him with them, ultimately strangling him.

"Hold still...Now this will only hurt temporarily" The figure raised its hand, placing it onto Jeff's forehead.

"What are you-"

The figure's face went to static once more, with his hand feeling warmth on Jeff's forehead. He then let the teen down, placing him onto his feet.

"W-What did you just do?!"

"Explanation will follow events, heed this warning, child: your mind will adjust once your core begins to tense. Farewell, Jeffery Woods. I shall return once you and your kin have learned the difference between vengeance, and sin." The figure flew out the window, and into the distance.

Jeff watched in anxiety, yet somewhat amazement at the creature's strange abilities. He was rather surprised it was capable of speech...

Just then, his head began pounding. Blood rushing to his head, just about the biggest migraine he'd ever experienced. He groaned from the throbbing pain, putting his hands to his forehead.

"What did he do?" He asked himself, unlocking his bedroom door. He opened it, to see his mother walking by with a load of laundry.

"Sweetie, did you brush your teeth and all the fun bedtime stuff?"

"Yeah Mom, just...Feeling a little weird." Jeff answered.

"Coming down with something?"

"I don't know. Lou's been acting kinda funny, have you noticed?"

"Yes, but I think he's just a little nervous over moving into a new house, and is just adjusting to it."

"M-Maybe...Well, I'm gonna get to sleep early. Goodnight, Mom."

Michele kissed his cheek with a "goodnight", and she gently shut his door."

Jeff paced by his bed, with each step producing more pain to his head, which got worse every second. To him, it felt as if his brain were about to explode inside his skull. "OWWW...I-I guess I'll just sleep it off and have everything return to "normal" in the morning."

Lou shook inside his closet, just the thought of Sully alone scared him, and he didn't want to take any chances with him. 'G-Goodnight, Jeff...'

'Forget about him. I'M your brother now!' Sully scolded inside Lou's mind.

'G-Goodnight...Lou...' Jeff was on his knees, with hands holding his temples. The pain was agonizing, and the thought process made it hurt worse. 'Wait a minute...That's it! MY head's hurting WORSE because that THING is making MY mind snap FASTER...Oh God, t-that means MY craziness will be-'

The grandfather clock in the living room chimed, alerting the house it was 10:30 PM.

The chime.

The chime, is what set it all off.

Jeff's mind began throbbing with unbearable pain, forcing him to his hands and knees. So helpless, the only thing he could do was whimper, breath heavily, and uncontrollably shed tears.

He felt a snap inside; finally. The pain was over. He could've sworn he heard a faint sound of glass breaking. He felt better, his mind no longer throbbing. But just then, he began twitching.

Something was not right, he could feel a strange cringing feeling within the core of his stomach. He felt heat slowly rising from it, up to his chest, with his heart pounding heavily.

He took some deep breaths, but he was still twitching. He fell into the corner of his room, just shaking. He then started uncontrollably laughing, as his eyes widened.

He suddenly stopped, as he looked around. "W-What the-"

Jeff was interrupted, as he saw something scary; his closet door open.

There was a light illuminating from it, as a shadowed figure walked out, chuckling darkly. "Hello, Jeff...Did you MISS me~?" The shadowed character lit up, revealing his face, which looked like Jeff's, except the fact his eyes were bordered in black, widened eyes with obvious shrunken pupils from the light, and a blood-dripping, cut smile.

He let out a sickening snicker, which evolved to a chuckle, and finally a disgusting cackle. Every time he blinked, it was creepy.

He looked like something that would've scared anything from the neighborhood; even a walking cat would run from the sight of him. He twitched whenever he walked, getting closer to Jeff.

Jeff jumped aback, as he yelped. "W-Who are YOU?!"

The permanently smiling figured laughed psychotically at Jeff's confusion. "It's me, Keaton. Your imaginary friend? Remember when you, Lou and I would play together as kids, and you'd do my voice as the teddy bear, Keaton?"

"No...NO...I-I got rid of you YEARS ago!"

"Yeah. You DID," Keaton let out another twisted chuckle. "I still remember that day, too...It was bedtime, you and Lou shared a room at the time...And the last thing you told me was "Shh. Night night, Keaton. Just go to sleep..."...Haaaahahahahaaa~! That was the best day ever, because I became my own person within your sub-conscience. Y'see, imaginary friends never TRULY die...We just get left in the back of your head, to be lonely and forgotten...And to make matters WORSE? ...You NEVER woke me up after that day. You and him just left me to DIE!"

"W-Why do you look like ME?"

"Because, all voices you do are your own...But MOM threw my stuffed bear "corpse" away when our house caught fire in California...And I was free from the bear, and YOUR personality mixed with MINE. Also that thing is what REALLY woke me up..Hehehehee~ And now...I have some...Revenge on MY mind. Since you left ME to die, as YOU were the dominant personality...I think I'll RETURN THE FAVOR!"

Keaton laughed crazily, jumping and seemingly to just disappear inside Jeff's head.

"Keaton, w-what are you doing?!" Jeff started to panic, but unwillingly got up.

"I'll tell you what I'm doing, you little SHIT!" Keaton grabbed Jeff's throat, and pinned him to the wall.

Jeff coughed from such a tight grip. "STOP!"

Keaton laughed, slamming Jeff's face to the wall repeatedly. Blood ran down his nose, and the psychotic entity cackled, punching Jeff in the eye, making them both fall to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning...

5:30 AM.

Jeff woke up where he was painfully laying the previous night.

He groaned, as he got up. Cracking his back, shoulders and neck. "What the freak HAPPENED last night? As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think it was a DREAM...Oh God, Lou!"

Jeff ran straight to his brother's room, knocking on the door, and trying to open it. It was still locked, so he just called from the other side. "Lou! Lou? You awake? C'mon, bro, we're gonna be late for the bus!"

Lou woke up in the same sitting position from the unpleasant night that Sully created. He shook, reaching for the knob.

"Finally you're awake..." Said Sully, opening the door. "You learn anything last night about yourself?"

"I-I..." Lou's throat was strained from crying. "Yes, Sully. You're there for me until the end."

"Good. I'm glad you understand that I am NOT a monster, I'm here to HELP you."

'I wish there were another way out from this...' Lou thought. "Sully, Jeff's knocking at the door. It's almost time for school."

"I heard him," Sully sneered. "Act natural. Don't give me away, I understand that people JUST wouldn't be able to process that I exist inside your head to HELP you..."

Lou frowned bigger, still concerned from discovering Sully's TRUE nature. "I-I think I should brush my teeth, and get ready...Can't I answer Jeff?"

"Answer him. Just ignore him for the rest of the day, he did the same to you..."

Lou sighed, opening his bedroom door.

"H-Hey, bro...Good morning..." Jeff greeted awkwardly.

"Hey..."

"Lou, we've gotta talk. I-It's about last night..."

Sully walked Lou straight to the bathroom.

'Wait Sully, Jeff wanted to speak with me.'

'Who cares what happened last night? He gets whatever he has coming to him.'

The morning went same as the last, with the brothers' mother serving them breakfast, and their father saying "goodbye" for the day.

Jeff tried to get Lou to stop for a minute to speak, but Sully wouldn't have it.

Jane suddenly appeared, hugging Jeff, and kissing his cheek.

"H-Hey Jane...I kinda...Something happened last night."

"Oh what happened? Fight with Lou?"

"N-No, something worse."

Jane looked puzzled, trying to guess what the matter was. "What DID happen?"

"Have you ever seen...Something in the woods? Like a...A man wearing a suit, and he has creepy details OF a face, yet doesn't have one?"

She looked wide-eyed at Jeff. "N-No...It can't be."

"You've seen him too?"

"Y-Yes..." She sighed. "My grandmother gave me a book on mythical creatures before she passed away. You're talking about the Slender man."

"...'Slender man'?" Jeff wondered.

"Yes. Two decades ago, there was a lawyer named Steven Williams. His daughter, Sally would play with evil things, like a Ouija board, tarot cards, etc...She THOUGHT she was talking with her dead cat on the board, but with those things...Demons and other paranormal entities can find their way out. It's like a window for them, and the demon that she was speaking with, just so happened to be the ancient spirit, Zalgo. Zalgo is rumored to rule The Under-Realm; a place that's basically Hell, but it's not. It's just a waiting place where spirits wait for judgement. WE live in The Over-Realm; a.k.a, Earth. We're just living in the human realm...But there are others. Others where the spirits roam free, just WAITING for someone stupid to do SOMETHING, so they can just feed and OTHER nightmarish things."

"Woooah...What happened with Steven Williams?"

"Zalgo drove him insane, appearing to him in nightmares, leaving blood-drawings of eyeballs and mouths with rows of sharp teeth onto the walls. When he tried to tell his wife about all the nightmares, she thought he was possessed, divorced him, and took his daughter away. Heartbroken, he gave into darkness, and let Zalgo take him away to The Under-Realm. His face was taken away, and he was granted UNBELIEVABLE powers, and was given a contract; he could have all this, for as long as he helped Zalgo harvest souls of the living. He refused, and ran away. Nearby, he met up with one of the fallen angels; The Observer. He made a deal with The Observer, to let him be part of The Over-Realm once again. All he would have to do is be manager of the Proxy crew. The Proxies aid The Observer in HIS goal; to make sure Zalgo doesn't take more souls with him in the end. As a fallen angel, he regret choosing Satan over God, so he makes sure no more unfortunate souls fall under the influence of evil. Unfortunately though, insanity is the only thing Observer can TRULY harness. So innocent people die in the process, but the rest of the world is being helped...Honestly, it won't do MUCH in the end. That's at least what the book says."

"Wooow...So this 'Slender man' is really a good guy?"

"In a way. But not as a whole."

"He was following Lou and I the other night, and he kinda...Touched Lou's forehead."

Jane gasped. "WHAT?! T-That means...You and him have been chosen!"

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah, he has been STALKING me, but I'm not entirely sure if I had been chosen as well...But...Yes, YOU and your brother have been chosen as Proxies. He doesn't tell you until you go insane." Jane explained. "You should give him PLENTY of space...Question: Did he do ANYTHING to YOU?"

"...Yeah. He said MY craziness is gonna come quicker since I figured out the stuff about Lou."

Jane didn't know how to respond, just looked at Jeff.

"Yeah...Just...Don't worry. I'm sure it won't be THAT bad..." Said Jeff, putting a hand to the back of his head.

She hugged him without a word.

"Here he comes," Jeff said, holding her closer, making sure neither of them were in Lou's path.

Sully walked past the two, shaking his head. 'Ugh, look at how disgusting they are...'

'They aren't bad, Sully...' Lou replied, walking quietly into the bus and finding a seat.

Keaton's horrible, almost demonic sounding laugh echoed inside Jeff's head. 'D'aaaw~ So THIS is your new girlfriend, ay, "F"-er?'

Jeff nodded, much to Jane's confusion.

'Funny. You seem to be close with HER. When you planning to leave HER to die, hmmm?'

'Quit it, Keaton. I didn't MEAN to do ANYTHING to you. It's not MY fault Mom threw away your burnt BEAR body. Why do you choose to torment ME?'

'Simple; you played with MY feelings by never waking me up, I mess with YOUR head.' Keaton laughed.

"Are you okay, Jeff?" Jane wondered, concerned.

Jeff kissed her cheek. "Y-Yes. I'm fine. Hey, time for school. Ready to go?"

"Let's go," Jane smiled, returning the kiss.

'Oh, this is RICH!' Keaton said, laughing and pretending to choke in between words. He appeared to Jeff as a hallucination. He stood at a seat right behind Lou's, motioning Jeff to sit there. Which he did with Jane.

'Oh great...The Honeymooners are sitting behind us,' Sully's voice echoed inside Lou's head. 'I just wish they'd go away...Maybe we'll get lucky and crash, with them on the unfortunate side of things...Hehe.'

Lou looked behind him, and back to the driver. He nervously gulped.

'Go ahead, do it.'

'D-Do what?'

'All that driver needs is a distraction, and he'd crash like a baseball through a window. All that crashing metal...The beautiful sound of tires screeching...'

'Stop it, Sully. Please.' Lou looked disturbed, cringing in his seat.

Sully smirked, kicking off one of Lou's shoes. He aimed it to the bus driver's foot on the brake, and teased Lou with thoughts of the Horror that would produced is he were to kick it.

'P-Please stop!'

'Look around you, Lou. Do THESE people look at all IMPORTANT? Ch, look at Jeff and Jane. All they'd do is end up together, get a house, get a kid...Live life. Ha, so what? And look, there's that dumb blonde cheerleader; the slut of the school. You think SHE'D do anything great in life? Hm?"

'N-No, but I don't want them to DIE...' Lou began shaking again. 'Come on, Sully. No. They're JUST people, they mistakes.'

'EXACTLY. They're JUST people...They mean NOTHING to this world. Most people are so unclean, so impure on the inside...They just sicken me...'

'Human lives shouldn't be taken, Sully. They LEARN from their mistakes. It's apart of life.'

'Hmph...Life...Not even going to explain THAT...'

'Hey dumbass, look at Lou. He's SHAKING. Hehehee~ Maybe HE'S talking with HIS other personality too!' Keaton spoke.

'Leave me alone,' Jeff answered, letting Jane rest her head in his shoulder.

'Wouldn't it be fun to get some...Revenge on Lou too?'

'No. It wouldn't.'

'Woooaah, look at all the suckers in this bus. I wish I could put THEM to "sleep"...'

"Jeff, you know I'd still care for you no matter what, right?" Jane kissed Jeff's cheek.

He smiled, reassured by her words. "Even if I turn into a monster?"

"Even if I burned tomorrow, I'd never stop having feelings for you."

Keaton's laugh echoed within Jeff's mind. '..."Burned", huh? Sounds like a plan...'

'If you try to kill Jane, I'll make you sorry, Keaton.' Jeff angrily thought.

'And HOW would you do THAT? I LIKE pain. Blood, screams, pain...Insanity's the only thing that's ever made me TRULY happy. That's why I cut a smile into my mouth, and across my cheeks; to remind myself how it makes me feel. To have steel through my face. To actually find PLEASURE in pain. Not only from myself, but others'.'

'Why the black on the eyes? The circus in town?'

'Noooo. Because I like how it reminds me how I'm honestly just a shadow in your sub-conscience. The darkness is a FUN place to be, Jeffrey. You should JOIN me someday...Oh wait, we're already one! HAAAAHAHAHAHAAA~!'

Keaton was right, unfortunately. Jeff's mind was his home, and Horror was his food.


	6. Chapter 6

The school day was boring as usual to the students, just a place of punishment.

Sully was still trying to control Lou, and Keaton's thoughts beginning to penetrate Jeff's own. He was just haunting the poor boy.

The two were finally alone, since Jane was sitting inside her mother's house, waiting for her father to pick her up for visitation.

"Lou...We have to talk," Jeff spoke up. "I...Saw something last night."

'Great. Here comes the traitor giving a speech. If YOU want to listen, that's fine, Lou. Kindly let me focus on other things, though. I can't bare to hear his voice, yet alone listen to his explanations.' Sully said, silencing inside Lou's mind temporarily.

"J-Jeff...So did I. A couple nights ago actually." Lou shook with fear, looking into Jeff's eyes.

"You saw that thing from the woods, didn't you?"

"Y-Yes...His touch activated another me within my mind. He just won't leave me alone. I'm very SCARED, Jeff."

Jeff looked wide-eyed at his brother. "Me too! Oh God, he's woken up Keaton. Y'know, that teddy bear we used to play with?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. He's...Apparently went crazy over the years, and now wants to kill others for God knows WHY."

"...Same here, Jeff. Remember how I suddenly-"

"Became an asshole? Yeah, I did! HaHA!" Keaton laughed in Lou's face.

Lou looked wide-eyed at Keaton. "J-Jeff?"

"Wroooong. It's "Keaton", you little SHIT. Remember when we used to play, and you and your dumbass brother would put me to sleep?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Well, there's NOTHING more in this world I'd rather have, than to return the favor~ Hehehehe~"

Lou's eyebrows narrowed, as Sully heard what Keaton had said. He slapped Keaton in the throat, making back away, choking.

Keaton laughed, then kicked the back of Sully's heel, making him fall flat on his face into the wet grass of a random neighbor's yard.

Sully angrily wiped his face, and grabbed Keaton's foot, making him fall backwards, head first into the neighbor's plastic flamingo.

"Nice of ya to give me a "hand", Louis." Keaton chuckled. "Really got me "FALLING" for you."

"That's the sickest thing I've ever HEARD! And it's not Lou this time. I'm Sully. And you must be Teddy Wetsthebed, right?"

"HEY! Listen, Sullivan. Lou would JOKINGLY say "Keaton wet the bed! Eeeew!"! I NEVER wet the bed, I was a TEDDY BEAR!"

Sully punched Keaton in the stomach, and shoved him to the ground. "Don't you EVER call me "Sullivan" again, bear!"

Keaton let out another twisted laugh. "I'd LOVE to see what you'd do if I did it AGAIN~"

"YOU REALLY WANT TO PUSH M-"

"Hey! What are you kids doing on my lawn?!" An old woman squawked, holding an umbrella. She screamed through an open window, placing her cat onto a random table. "GET OUT, BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE!"

Sully punched Keaton in the head, and made a run for it.

Keaton on the other hand, wanted to test the old woman on her word. "And what would happen if you DID? Would I be LOCKED UP or something?"

"DAG NAM YOU DEGENERATE YOUTHS OF TODAY! You'll NEVER learn respect! You should ALL be locked up!" The old woman shook her fist from the window.

'Hey Jeffery...Wanna have some FUN~?"

'What are you thinking?' Jeff raised an eyebrow.

"Taking over. Later, Jeffery." Keaton then walked up the front door, knocking on it.

The old woman was heavily angered by Keaton's defiance, picking her phone up and calling the number for the police. "Hello, police? There's ANOTHER disgusting adolescent individual that is pranking me again. I'm telling him to go away, but he won't. M-hm? Well okay, make sure you send someone out as soon as possible. He looks like trouble. Okay, sir. I'll keep the hooligan inside my house so you can come get him. Okay, goodbye."

Keaton snickered, pounding on her door still. 'Jeffery, play it cool. I can get us some NICE fun right about now~'

'What are you PLANNING, Keaton?' Jeff wondered, full of concern. 'Hey, why the Hell can't I move my arm?'

'Just pretend it's nap-time.' Keaton answered simply. 'Hang on, I'll make sure EVERYBODY'S asleep. Heeheeheehee~'

The old woman opened her front door, and offered Jeff some cookies and tea, which "he" accepted, and sat at the table. "Please excuse me for a moment, I need to bring you some tea, dearie."

"Oh, no problem, lady." Keaton answered, trying his best to mimic Jeff's sane voice.

The woman went to her kitchen, coming back with a pot of tea, along with two cups. "One lump or two, dearie?"

"Hmmm...Two, please."

"Okay," The woman poured the tea, adding the sugar cubes. "Tell me, what brings you to this part of the neighborhood?"

"Going to a neighbor kid's birthday party with my parents and brother. My brother and I were just coming home from school, and we...Had a PLAY fight. It was fun, we hope we didn't worry you. It wasn't real, both of us are okay."

"Oh dear. Well, I'm happy you two are okay. Here's your tea. And this is Suzy, my little kitty. She's a Tabby. I've had her for years, she's been my friend all these years."

Keaton sipped his tea, gagging slightly, as he didn't like the taste of the beverage. "Y-Yeah? Ever married?"

"No."

"..." Keaton thought for a minute, but finally came up with an excuse. "Pardon me, ma'am, but may I be excused to find a spoon? I like to stir my tea while talking, it calms my nerves."

"Sure, sonny. They're in the kitchen drawers." The old woman happily answered, knowing that the police department would soon arrive. All she needed was a little time.

Keaton walked to the kitchen, hungrily looking at all the knives that were being held within the knife block. 'Watch this, Jeffery. We're about to have FUN together~ Especially since I'M in control of YOUR body movements~' He chuckled to himself.

'I-I can't watch...You're INSANE, Keaton! Please stop!'

'Why would I stop? I just want to see what SHE'S made of...I want to see her stuffing...' He searched through the drawers, and finally found a meat cleaver. He put a towel over his hand, and grasped the handle tightly. 'Ooh~ THIS looks FUUUN~'

Jeff started to shake, as he finally realized what his "other personality" was going to do. He couldn't do anything but cry inside, just shook with anxiety.

"E-Excuse me, lady...Have you been having back problems? Not trying to stereotype my elders, just wondering." Keaton was holding back his disgusting laugh, hiding the cleaver behind his back.

"Actually, I DO. Yelling at hooligans all day gives you blood-pressure problems, and you know what THOSE do to someone. Hehe."

"Mind if I give you a little massage, ma'am? I mean, since I wish to make up for the trouble my brother and I have caused you..."

"Go ahead, but I doubt my back pain would resolve from a massage. My MEDICATION barley helps with it. Hehe." The old woman leaned forward for Jeff to massage her back.

Keaton walked up behind her, massaging her shoulder with one hand. "Feeling better?"

"A little, I suppose." The old woman answered, unfazed by the massaging.

Keaton began rubbing her back through her shirt, rubbing up and down. "Better at all?"

"Oh yes, keep rubbing, sonny boy. I'm feeling a BIT better from my pain."

Keaton continued for about ten seconds, and stopped, keeping his hand in place. "Feeling a bit...Relaxed?"

"I do. Thank you." She smiled, feeling a bit relaxed, closing her eyes. "This is nice, a massage, a cup of tea, nice talk...If only you were a lot older...Heehee."

'Oh God...' Keaton groaned, but then gained his crazed smile once again. "Hey, since you're relaxed, you know what you should do now, ma'am?"

"I don't know, what?" She asked, entertained at Keaton's words, as if he were about to tell a joke.

"You should GO...TO...SLEEP!" Keaton laughed psychotically, removing his hand, and chopping the meat cleaver into the woman's back.

She screamed loudly, but Keaton didn't care. He laughed harder to cover it, chopping repeatedly, causing blood to splatter all over the room.

It was a mess. Even some splatters landed onto Suzy, which scared the poor cat so much, it forced her to run out the house.

The psycho then chopped the back of the woman's neck, leaving the blade inside the penetrated skin.

He then took her glasses, and threw them to the ground with another laugh. "Sweet dreams, lady~" He trampled the glasses, watching gleefully, as the glass broke under his shoe, and the frames bending in half.

Just then, he heard the most terrifying thing any killer could hear; police sirens.

He looked frantically for somewhere to hide, but then he saw it; the backyard door.

This was his chance of escape, and he took it. Carefully taking the towel with him, and making sure not to leave fingerprints onto the doorknob.

A cop opened the unlocked front door. As soon as he walked in, he obscene Horror that was the dead woman.

He inspected the body, checking for ANY signs of breathing. There were very little, as the woman let nothing out, but one last cough.

"Whoever did this is going straight to Hell. T-This is unacceptable." The cop spoke, disgusted at what he just witnessed. "I will hunt this murderer down, and take him out with my bare hands."

Keaton laughed to himself while walking home with Jeff. 'Did you HEAR how that bitch screamed?! HAHAHAAA~ I put her to sleep good, hm?'

"THAT WAS HORRIBLE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Jeff cursed, angered at Keaton. "W-We just...Murdered somebody. That wasn't FUN, that was SICK! I-I want to be locked up, you can't be contained obviously...'

'Don't say "murder". It sounds WRONG when you put it that way. "Kill" is the word I'D use. MURDERING somebody is BAD. But KILLING? KILLING is helping others.'

"You sick bastard."

"I'm serious. MURDERING is spilling innocent blood and hurts EVERYBODY. KILLING is helping others. Think of it like this; what the Hell separates US from a judge? Or even THE ARMY for that matter? Huh?...That's right: NOTHING! You only think it's wrong to kill because you were taught only CERTAIN people can kill...Trust me, we HELPED that woman. She was old, I'm sure she was in pain, and it hurt her family to SEE her in pain."

Jeff sighed. "You're freakin' insane..."

"AM I?"

"Yes. You are."

"Then the morally right thing is wrong."

"YOUR version of "morals" is wrong."

"Who's to say which set of morals is right? You were TAUGHT yours. I on the other hand, use logic."

"Disgusting logic."

"You'll understand sooner or later."

"Pretty sure I won't."

"Hey, remember our job as community service guys?"

"Oh God, I forgot about it! I-I thought that cop was supposed to pick I, Lou and Jane up for work!"

"Who CARES? Must be a delay for SOME reason. Hey, wanna have fun with the cop?"

"NO,"

Keaton chuckled. "Like you HAVE a choice. I can just take over, remember?"

Jeff sighed.

"Glad YOU'RE having fun too, Jeffy~ I didn't think I'd get a single noise outta you. And sometimes sighs are submissiiiive~" Keaton laughed, running to the highway, where a cop was already standing, waiting for him.


	7. Chapter 7

"Ah, THERE you are, son." The cop said impatiently. "Your brother just came by and said he had the flu. He's going to be here for an extra two hours when he's better. Your girlfriend is joining her father for visitation, so she's going to be here as well for an extra two hours."

Keaton began mimicking Jeff's sane voice again. "Wow officer, I didn't realize Jane had to go in such a hurry..."

"Yes, it's sad to see a broken family, isn't it?"

Keaton's laugh echoed inside Jeff's head. 'Define "broken"...' "It sure is, sir. Hey, whatever happened with Seth and his little friends?"

"They're on lock-down, getting punished, as they're getting whipped and-"

"Gagged?" Keaton jested.

The cop didn't look pleased with the joke, as he raised an eyebrow. "Just get to work, Woods."

"Yes sir. Uh, where's my jumpsuit?"

"In the car, I'll get it." The cop bent down in the seat to get the orange jumpsuit, as Keaton eyed his gun-holster.

He stared at the gun, biting his lip. 'Ooooh~ I know what I'M gonna do~' He took control over Jeff's body, reaching his hand out.

"Keaton! NO!" Jeff demanded. "DON'T KILL HIM!"

Keaton grabbed the gun from the holster, and jumped back. "I'm NOT going to KILL him, ya dumbass. I'm gonna put him to sleep..."

The cop jumped out the car, looking at what was now his own gun aimed at his face. "PUT THE GUN. DOWN!" He grabbed Keaton's wrist, pushing it off aim. "You're going to jail right now, Jeffery Woods!"

"I don't think so...And it's "KEATON", copper. DON'T confuse ME with HIM. EVER." Keaton laughed, kicking the cop in the crotch. "Say "goodnight", officer. You've made your LAST arrest."

"STOP!" The cop pleaded.

"And what will you do to get off without a bullet, huh?!" Keaton was letting out his sickening, almost demonic chuckle.

"What do you WANT?"

"I want freedom, you donut munching, cop car driving fatass! Get out your little clipboard, and take away the penalties of Jeff, Lou, and Jane. C'mon, let's see it."

The cop had a plan, as he grabbed the clipboard and pen. "You're insane, y'know that, Woods?"

"Thank you, I take that as a compliment."

The cop raised his pen, and pretend to write.

"Almost done? Hurry up! Unless you want some led to add that pointed head of yours, pencil neck!" Keaton cackled, still aiming the gun at the cop's head.

The cop quickly threw the clipboard to the side, grabbing his baton. He threw it at Keaton's head, which hit the monster, but made him drop the gun, which shot off, hitting the cop. The bullet just barley missed his heart.

Wounded, the cop screamed. He got out his pair of handcuffs, and crawled over to Keaton, pushing the the gun to the side. "You're going to jail for life, punk!" He grabbed Keaton's wrist, as the psycho struggled to get out his grasp.

The cop handcuffed himself to Jeff's wrist, and sat on the ground. "When I find a phone...You're going to jail, criminal." He looked out into the distance, in hopes he could see a phone-booth nearby.

Keaton used Jeff's foot to bring the gun closer to him, grabbing it. "Hey officer, I'm REALLY sorry about what just happened. You're right, I'm insane...I don't know where my father went wrong."

The cop turned his head back to face Jeff, only to get the gun inside his mouth.

"In fact, I think you should get some rest from fighting crime so often, officer. You should just go to sleep..." Keaton cocked the gun.

The cop raised his hand, trying to shove the psycho's hand away. Unfortunately for him, his slam unintentionally forced Jeff's finger to pull the trigger.

Blood splashed from the bullet hole inside the back of cop's throat, much to Keaton's amusement, who just laughed psychotically.

"AAAND...Break away time~" He lifted the chain of the handcuffs, and shot it. It broke in half, and Jeff was free.

He took the key from the cop's pocket, and unlocked the cuff.

Keaton ran off to Jeff's home, where Lou and their parents were waiting inside.

Keaton noticed a neighbor's sprinkler, and washed the cop's blood off his forehead before knocking on Jeff's parents' door, hiding the gun inside his pocket. He finally let Jeff take back control, much to his Horror. He shook from the killing. Just speechless.

Michele answered the door, not looking at all happy with her son that was standing in the front doorway. She was wearing a white Vogue cocktail dress, pearl necklace with matching earrings, and a pair of heeled British Brivitts. "Jeff? Where have you BEEN? Ugh, it's time for Taylor's party! You're SOAKED, in that hoodie you've been wearing a couple days, AND late for the party? He's SIX years old, he probably thought you and your brother were the "cool kids" and wanted you to attend because you're older. You only get to be a kid ONCE. PLEASE can you not do anything redundant at the party?"

"Y-Yes, Mom. I'm sorry," Jeff spoke. "I won't do anything dumb, I promise. No scaring kids...Well, intentionally. No swearing, nothing."

"Good," She snapped. "Too late to change, try your best to ring out that hoodie on the way to the neighbor's house."

Lou was now dressed in a red suit shirt with black tie, matching black pants and shoes, and he somewhat smiled at his brother.

Wendell was dressed in his usual suit and dance shoes. He looked taken aback by his wife's rage, as he made sure to keep quiet, and to stay out her way.

"C'mon, Jeff. Time for the party, aren't you EXCITED?" Lou softly asked, shaking from Sully, who was patiently watching inside his mind.

"I..." Jeff didn't know what to say, so he just walked quietly.

"You boys are lucky your father got the presents to give him FOR YOU," Michele added. "Jeffery, your present for him is a box of army men. Louis, your present for him is a coloring book WITH crayons."

The brothers nodded, walking across the street with their parents. They got to Mrs. Frehley's house, knocking on the door.

The moment Mrs. Frehley opened her door, music was blasting from a record player; the song, "The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round". Kids were playing musical chairs, having a blast.

By the looks of Mrs. Frehley, it looked like she's had more than enough of the party, as she panted and had a hand to her forehead. "Welcome to Taylor's birthday, neighbors~! I'm sure Taylor will be happy when he sees more people have come to attend."

"Are you okay, Mrs. Frehley?" Michele asked.

"Oh yes, the little angels have just been having fun with their music and everything.." She sighed. "His father hasn't come back home yet, he's out on business, and I've been doing all this myself. The other kids showed up without parents, it's a mess."

"We're sorry to hear that, we'll do everything we can to help. Right, Wendell?"

Wendell was silent, thinking to himself when he hears all the noisy children. 'Oh no...HOW long is this party going to be?'

"Riiight, Wendell?" Michele lightly elbowed her husband. "WENDELL!"

"What? Oh, yes! Sorry, I was just...Thinking. Thinking about how NICE these children are~ Hehe..."

"Jeff, why don't you and your brother go play with the kids while the grown-ups talk, hm?"

Jeff groaned, as Lou grunted. But the look in their mother's eye said it all. They went straight towards the kids, watching them play musical chairs.

Laughter, happiness and music was present. Just the smiling faces of the children was enough to make a person grin from ear to ear.

After a few seconds, the music stopped and all the children rushed for their seats.

Taylor was the last the get a seat, as one of his friends slowly walked away to get himself a glass of punch.

"Hiya, Jeff! Hiya, Lou!" Taylor waved enthusiastically. "Welcome to my birthday party, you'll have FUN here."

The brothers looked at each other with an unsure look, earning a laugh from Keaton echoing inside Jeff's head.

"Hey kid, what'cha doin'?" Keaton asked, reaching into his hoodie pocket.

"Playing musical chairs. It's FUUUN~ Wanna join after we're done?"

Lou nodded instantly. "Sure, we'd love to. I haven't played musical chairs since the second grade, long time since."

Jeff gave a thumbs-up, as his hand slipped out his pocket with the bloody towel from the old woman's house fell out his pocket. It was disgusting; pink and blood-stained. It smelled like metal, and the blood had dried from earlier, so it was dark and grotesque.

The other children looked at it, wide-eyed. They were scared, as they ran over to the punch table.

Jeff and Lou looked at each other again, as they knew this would later become the talk of the town.

Lou leaned into Jeff's ear and whispered. "W-What's THAT, Jeff?"

Jeff groaned anxiously, and replied. "...Keaton put that old woman to sleep. He's freaking PSYCHOPATHIC, man! I-I don't feel comfortable in public."

Lou gasped. "What the Hell, man?"

'I TOLD you he couldn't be trusted,' Sully's voice echoed inside Lou's head. 'He's a monster. Who would kill an OLD WOMAN, hm?'

'You almost killed an entire bus of kids,'

'That was different.'

"Those guys are WEIRD," One kid commented.

"Yeah, what's with the weird smelling towel?" Someone else added.

"Check out his face...Do eyes come in that color?"

Jeff's heart was pounding hard. They couldn't know about Keaton or his killings. His face started heating up from the intensity, and he bit the inside of his cheek.

"You feeling okay, Jeff?" Lou asked. "They're just kids, they don't MEAN anything b-by their comments."

Keaton laughed inside Jeff's head, just cackling evilly. 'Those little shits...They dare make fun of OUR face? YOUR face~? We should do something about these little "F"ers.'

'NO! You can't make me, Keaton. You're not the boss, you will NOT make me murder CHILDREN.'

'Oh I don't HAVE to MAKE you, Jeffery Woods. I AM YOU!' Keaton laughed.

Jeff ran upstairs, and found the bathroom. He locked himself inside, breathing heavily. 'Keaton...PLEASE don't kill them, they haven't done anything wrong. They're good kids, they'll grow up just fi-'

Keaton took control of Jeff's body once more, grabbing his throat and pinning him to the door. 'You listen to me, and you'd better listen good. Find me a DIFFERENT target if you don't want these little brats to die. I don't CARE who I kill, I just need BLOOD. PIN ME ON SOMEBODY ELSE, YOU CHEATER!' He slammed Jeff's head repeatedly into the door.

'K-Keaton...Please...Stop...' Jeff said in between slams. 'It's not MY place to choose who lives and dies, I'm not like SETH. I don't prey on every-' He was interrupted by one more slam.

"Hmmm," Keaton thought. "I think it's a GREAT idea to turn the tables on little Sethie~ Hehehehe~ You've got yourself a deal. Him and his cronies, for the kids."

"I-I didn't say-"

Keaton slammed Jeff's head one final time. "SHUT UP! I'M in control now...Me. Keaton Fuzzypants "Fluffy" Woods. HAAAAhahahahahaaa~ What a minute, what the Hell kind of name is THAT?!"

"WE WERE EIGHT WHEN WE NAMED YOU! STOP SLAMMING MY-"

Keaton coldly socked Jeff in the shoulder and laughed. "Just call me "Keaton". I don't want to be called "Woods" because that'd make it sound like I HAVE a family...MY only friends are whatever weapon I get my hands on, and the screams of those I put to sleep. We're going to jail, and THEY'RE going to Hell." He let out a twisted cackle, and looked in the mirror.

He really studied Jeff's face, his mouth forming into an evil smile. "Heeey...THIS isn't what I look like. I'd better make some adjustments."

Keaton forced Jeff's hand to look through the drawer, where he finds eyeliner and a whittling knife. "We-ell, what's this? What's a KNIFE doing in a bathroom drawer?"

Jeff narrowed his eyes, noticing Keaton's sick grin that never left.

"Maybe she was putting it away to confiscate from her son that likes whittling? Perhaps she's...Suicidal~? Or maybe is just a psychopath like me~" Keaton laughed.

"STOP IT!" Jeff yelled, but it was no use. Keaton had already locked the door, and the house wasn't all that echoing.

"Aw c'mon, Jeffery. I'm your TEDDY BEAR. It's my JOB to make you smile...Now...This will only hurt a bit." Keaton got the blade out, and grabbed Jeff's chin.

"Wait, w-what the Hell are you doing?!"

"Shhh, shh...Just think of something nice and pretty. It'll get your mind off certain things..." Keaton put the knife inside Jeff's mouth, and slowly dragged it into his left cheek.

All that was heard from downstairs were faint noises of Jeff's screams, and Keaton's laugh.

Jeff's tears ran down his face, mixing with the blood spilling down his mouth. Nothing but a painful sting was felt from Jeff. His mind was no longer his own, Keaton took it by force.

"DO IT! JUST CARVE MY MOUTH, YOU PSYCHOTIC BASTARD!" Jeff sniffed, as Keaton laughed more.

"Excellent. It's about TIME you understand MY way of thinking...Now, I'VE got to even out your face. Hold still, I'm almost done." Keaton inserted the knife into Jeff's other cheek, slowly cutting the skin. More blood and tears were shed, as Jeff's will twisted into the darkness. His sanity fading more by every minute.

"Hey...Not BAD, Keaton. Let ME try something..." Jeff voice started sound like Keaton's; psychotic and creepy.

"Be my guest," Keaton let Jeff take control once again.

Jeff took the eyeliner, and bordered his eyes with the ebony-colored cosmetic.

At that very moment, Jeff began laughing to himself. "Hey...I've always WANTED color on my face. Well...Now I do. Hahahahaaa~ Thanks, Keaton. Thanks for teaching me something no school could EVER teach; something about myself. I LIVE to put people to sleep. That's ALWAYS how it was meant to be."

"Good...Now, let's go get some revenge on those jerk-offs that broke our sanity."

"They didn't reall- Ah never mind. The more I think about it, the more they just PISS me off...Let's KILL them, Keaton. Helping society..."

Keaton nodded, and Jeff opened the door. 'Crap, NOW I need to escape without ANYONE seeing my face.'

'Don't worry about it, just sneak, okay?'

'Okay.' Jeff crawled on his knees, diving behind the couch.

"Anyone seen Jeff?" Asked Lou.

"I haven't seen him since he went up to the bathroom," Taylor answered.

"Maybe he went to make a poop." One kid laughed.

"EEEEWWW," The other kid joined in the laughter. "Nasty."

'We'd better be careful...Hey, doesn't this house have a BACKyard like that lady's house?' Keaton asked, as he sneaks past the couch and goes to the kitchen at top speed.

'Y-Yeah, yeah...I think so.' Jeff accidentally bumped into a hanging pot, which banged into the other pots. 'Shoot!'

'Nice going, smart one.' Keaton commented, dashing to the door.

"What was that?" Lou walked over to the kitchen, and got a glimpse of Jeff's hood.

'That little freak is ESCAPING. Huh...Maybe he'll get run over.' Sully thought.

'Sully, now's NOT a good time.'

"Bull!" Sully ran to through the door, shutting it after him.

'Woah, look, Jeffery. Louis and Sullivan are following us.'

'Craaap...How far's the jail from here?'

'A few blocks from here. We'd better hurry...Hey, there's a bike in the neighbor's yard. We can book it right here, right now.'

Jeff nodded, running over to the bike and getting on. He practically soared through the sidewalks. There was ice on the sidewalks, forcing him to ride on the street occasionally. But that wasn't enough; after one minute, one of the tires slipped on the ice, and Jeff was sent flying into a bush.

"AFTER THEM!" Sully ran at top speed, but wasn't as fast as the bike. He slipped on ice, forcing him onto his forehead.

Lou screamed, since on the landing, he flew barley above a random sprinkler. It left a horrifying scratch that started across the cigarette burn on his forehead that ended on his left eyebrow. He felt a strong burning feeling, as tears of pain ran down his eyes.

Blood fell from his scratch, and he had nothing but the bloody towel from Jeff's hoodie's pocket. He ringed out as much blood as he could, using snow as water.

Once he felt the towel was "clean" enough, he held it onto his scratch to stop the blood.

"He did this, Lou...Chasing JEFF and KEATON has damaged your face! That tears it, I'm going to kill him!" Sully exclaimed, running after Jeff more.

Just then, there was a loud static noise, as Slender man appeared. He spoke with his deep, ominous voice once more.

"Greetings, Louis. Sullivan..."

"What do YOU want?! Haven't you caused ENOUGH?" Sully yelled.

Jeff heard the static, and came walking up to Slender man. "M-Master...?"

"Hello, Jeffery. Keaton. I am glad you have decided to join us, because I was about to inform you about your new positions; your new occupations, if you will."

"W-What are you talking about?" Jeff wondered.

"You both have been personally selected to become Proxies under the crew of The Observer. Our jobs are to cleanse this world of disgustful mortals, and make sure that malevolent fool, ZALGO doesn't steal any more souls from The Over-Realm. The reason I have awaken your insanity, was to prepare you for this position. Humans are weak, and would easily fall into Depression. Being haunted by nightmares of taking the life of another living creature. Take my hands, and you will both be granted three unique abilities; immortality, supernatural healing and appearance modifying. If you do not know what that is, it is the ability to alter your appearance into whatever age that is necessary for the specific mission."

"Y-You mean if I wanted to look like an adult, baby or any age, I could turn into one?" Lou asked.

Slender man chuckled at the question. "Yes, and the higher your ranking is, the more powers you receive. So, what do you siblings say? Will you join The Observer's quest in life to make this world a better place?"

Jeff reached his hand out, as did Lou. They shook Slender man's hands, and a light illuminated from them.


	8. Chapter 8

"You have chose the right thing. Now, we must eliminate the mortals called "Seth MacDonald", "Rick Trainor" and "Manuel Jonas". I will teleport you both to their jail cell, and you must annihilate them." Slender man grabbed the two's shoulders, and they were instantly transported inside the cell, where all the criminals inside were sleeping.

All not looking comfortable, but asleep. Seth was sleeping against the wall, Rick under the bed, and Manny next to the filthy toilet, which reeked of God knows what.

"Here we are. You both have weapons, correct?" Slender man asked.

"Keaton got me a whittling knife," Jeff quickly responded.

"I have nothing." Lou replied.

Slender didn't looked pleased, as he summoned a meat cleaver, and a hammer. "Both of you go nuts...Oh, by the way...Jeffery, you need to prepare Louis' face for his Proxy duties."

"Wait...W-What?" Jeff looked shocked. "I-I still CARE about my own BROTHER, Slender."

"Don't KILL him, just prepare him."

"B-But..." Jeff saw the fear in Lou's eyes, as tears formed inside his.

"You agreed to do WHATEVER is your mission. Jeffery, your missions for tonight are preparing two people as Proxies, and killing these mortal "bullies" in here." Slender snapped. "Louis, YOUR mission is to AID Jeff on these missions. Now don't make me repeat, or I shall wake Sully and Keaton up once more. I intentionally gave YOU control for now, and craziness awakens once they're NEEDED. They're not NEEDED right now, ARE they?"

"N-No...Master..."

"Good. Now do your job, before I make you." Slender watched from the corner of the room.

"L-Lou...I'm sorry...I don't WANT to do this. I don't want to hurt you...But it's orders." Jeff got the knife out again, and put it inside Lou's mouth.

"Wait, is this really necessar-" Lou was interrupted by his own screams, as Jeff dragged the knife, ultimately cutting half of a "smile" into his face. Tears fell down his eye from the excruciating pain, as they mixed with the blood.

"Shhh, it's okay. Almost done. I'll let the other side go fast, alright?"

"What do you mea-" Lou was interrupted once again, as Jeff slashed across the other side of his mouth.

"See? I think the "one side straight, one side curved" look suits you best."

"YOU PSYCHOPATH!" Lou exclaimed, as he accidentally woke Seth and his friends up. The cuts on his mouth magically gained stitches, and the brothers illuminated with white light once again.

"Now...KILL THEM!" Slender man demanded, scaring the criminals.

Jeff began laughing uncontrollably, as he charged at Seth, tackling him.

Seth struggled frantically, trying to escape Jeff's grip.

"Shh...Seth, my poor boy. You're SO scared, and I bet you're questioning whether this is a dream or not...Well, it's WORSE; reality, buddy. And here's my advice for you..."

"F-Face-freak?" Seth narrowed his eyes.

"YEP...Just GO BACK TO SLEEP!" Jeff laughed psychotically, stabbing Seth's throat. He watched Seth choke on his own blood for a few seconds, but got bored. He got up, grabbing Seth by the chin, and walking the near-dead boy the edge of the wall, where the bars ended.

"W-What are you doing, F-Face-freak?" Seth choked more, blood draining onto the floor.

"Oh NOTHING, Seth~ Just making sure every tooth but your SWEET tooth is out. That way, in the afterlife, you'll be as nice as you were when you were alive..." Jeff let out another sick cackle, opening Seth's mouth, and slamming it on the edge of the cell's wall. Teeth and blood flew EVERYWHERE.

Jeff then slammed Seth's mouth one last time, and shoved his knife into the criminal's eye, which made him bleed out faster.

Rick was about to grab Jeff, but was stopped by Lou, who now has a twisted smile on his face. He pinned him to the bars, chopped the middle of his face with the meat cleaver, earning more screams and bloodshed.

Lou started chuckling, as he repeatedly chopped the middle of the crony's face. He then sliced his nose off, and hammered the blade into his chest, dragging it, as the edge of the blade stabbed his heart.

Jeff threw the now late Seth MacDonald face first into the bars, and tackled Manny, inserting his knife into the middle of his chest. "Shhh...You'll wake Seth up if you make a sound..." He laughed, sticking the blade inside Manny's nose, and ripping it out.

Lou stabbed Rick one more time to make sure he was dead, and threw him on top of Seth's corpse.

Jeff stabbed an "X" into Manny's eye, and finally stabbed him in the scrotum. "Just GO...TO...SLEEP, you lifeless piece of-"

"JEFF! Don't swear, it'll offend the assholes of this jail..." Lou laughed, kicking Manny's head as hard as he could, watching him die.

"Well, THAT was fun..." Said Jeff, holding his hand out for Lou to shake.

"You KIDDING me, bro?" Lou hugged Jeff tightly, somewhat lifting him off the ground. "That was AWESOME...Best killer brothers EVER."

"I concur," Slender man applauded the two, clapping for their killings. "You two are worthy enough AFTER all..."

"Hell YEAH we are...So...What's that OTHER mission you were talking about, Slender?" Jeff wondered.

"Oh, do address me as "Operator". I am The Operator in the Proxy crew. "Slender man" is just a nick-name the simple-minded mortals gave me.

"Yes sir,"

"And to answer your question; you two just have but ONE final job for tonight; prepare one more Proxy's face for their new eternal mission."

"Who?" The brothers asked in unison.

"Jane Arkensaw," Slender answered. "She has been selected to be a Proxy as well...I would do it myself naturally, but I need a true test for you both. Can you handle it?"

"J-Jaaane?" Jeff's eyes widened, as flashbacks played inside his mind. ("H-Hey Jane...I kinda...Something happened last night."

"Oh what happened? Fight with Lou?"

"N-No, something worse."

"You've seen him too?"

"Y-Yes..." She sighed. "My grandmother gave me a book on mythical creatures before she passed away. You're talking about the Slender man."

"...'Slender man'?" Jeff wondered.

"He was following Lou and I the other night, and he kinda...Touched Lou's forehead."

Jane gasped. "WHAT?! T-That means...You and him have been chosen!"

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah, he has been STALKING me, but I'm not entirely sure if I had been chosen as well...But...Yes, YOU and your brother have been chosen as Proxies. He doesn't tell you until you go insane." Jane explained. "You should give him PLENTY of space...Question: Did he do ANYTHING to YOU?"

"...Yeah. He said MY craziness is gonna come quicker since I figured out the stuff about Lou."

Jane didn't know how to respond, just looked at Jeff.

"Yeah...Just...Don't worry. I'm sure it won't be THAT bad..." Said Jeff, putting a hand to the back of his head.

She hugged him without a word.

"Here he comes," Jeff said, holding her closer, making sure neither of them were in Lou's path.

Keaton's horrible, almost demonic sounding laugh echoed inside Jeff's head. 'D'aaaw~ So THIS is your new girlfriend, ay, "F"-er?'

Jeff nodded, much to Jane's confusion.

'Funny. You seem to be close with HER. When you planning to leave HER to die, hmmm?'

'Quit it, Keaton. I didn't MEAN to do ANYTHING to you. It's not MY fault Mom threw away your burnt BEAR body. Why do you choose to torment ME?'

'Simple; you played with MY feelings by never waking me up, I mess with YOUR head.' Keaton laughed.

"Are you okay, Jeff?" Jane wondered, concerned.

Jeff kissed her cheek. "Y-Yes. I'm fine. Hey, time for school. Ready to go?"

"Jeff, you know I'd still care for you no matter what, right?" Jane kissed Jeff's cheek.

He smiled, reassured by her words. "Even if I turn into a monster?"

"Even if I burned tomorrow, I'd never stop having feelings for you."

Keaton's laugh echoed within Jeff's mind. '..."Burned", huh? Sounds like a plan...')

He was snapped back into reality, thanks to Lou shaking his shoulder. "Jeff? Are you okay? You're not saying ANYTHING..."

Jeff jumped, looking wide-eyed still. "M-Master...I-I...Jane is my true love, I can't HURT her..."

"Must I awaken KEATON to do the job, Jeffery? Because if you cannot preform ONE simple job, I obviously can't tru-"

Jeff sniffed, looking back. "D-Do you think she'll understand and still love me?"

"Dude, if she TRULY loves you, OF COURSE she would..." Lou's sanity had snapped the second he killed his first victim.

"I agree," Slender nodded. "Now...We must get going." He grabbed the brothers' shoulders once more, and teleported inside Jane's father's living room.

"Where ARE we?" Lou wondered.

"Jane's Dad's house, man. Her parents are divorced, this is HIS home..." Jeff explained.

"Oh,"

Slender man looked at the two. "I am going to hide, becoming one with the surroundings. This is the ultimate test of worthiness. If you fail, you will both have to DIE."

"Wait, if we're immortal, don't you mean "die PERMANENTLY"?" Jeff questioned.

"Corre- ...Just...Do your job. Don't be a smartass, just preform the mission, and we're done for the night. I would recommend you come with me when we're through though, as your parents would most likely send you to the asylum, or you'd get killed or something..."

"Got'cha..." Jeff snuck around the house, looking for Jane's room. "Lou, you get the Dad. I get Jane."

"Why can't *I* get Jane?"

"MY girlfriend, MY stuff. MINE."

"...Good point. Sorry, man." Lou ran upstairs, and found the bathroom, where Jane's father was brushing his teeth.

Faint screams were heard, and Jeff took that as his cue to rush to Jane's room. He found it, as he opened the door gently.

There she was, Jane Arkensaw was asleep in her bed. Curled up next to her pillow, hugging it as if someone were next to her. "Yes, Jeff. Of course I'll marry you~" She spoke softly in her sleep.

Jeff gulped, as he blushed from hearing this. Tears formed in his eyes, as he was now forced to damage his lover's face. "Think of it like THIS, Jeff...You'll both be freaks together, and happily ever after..." He put his hood up, so she hopefully couldn't recognize his face.

Slender grew tired of waiting, so he snapped his finger, which triggered Keaton to once again awaken inside Jeff's head. 'Hello, Jeffery...Did ya MISS me~? Ooh~ Mission time...'

'W-Wait Keaton, DON'T-'

It was too late, Keaton grabbed Jane's hair, which snapped her awake.

Keaton dragged her out her room, and into the kitchen. She tried to fight from his grip, but every attack at his legs were ignored, as Keaton LOVED to fight and enjoyed pain of every type.

"LET ME GO, YOU MONSTER!" Jane cried. "I'LL KILL YOU...I'LL TELL MY BOYFRIEND ABOUT YO-"

"Shhhh...Just shut the Hell UP, lady. Not here to kill you, just here to fill an order made by the Slender man himself." Keaton said, turning on a burner on the stove. "Now perhaps going to sleep might help with the pain...Either way, your face is getting prepared for your new eternal job...Doesn't THAT sound like FUN?"

"J-Jeff? No...It's NOT you...IT'S THE INSANITY! JEFF, FIGHT IT!"

"SHH! Not telling you twice!" Keaton lifted Jane by the hair again, and held her face against the fire, slowly burning a "smile" into each of her cheeks.

She screamed through the whole burning session, as the sides of her mouth were blacked with third-degree burns. Tears fell down her face from the pain, and knowing KEATON was harming her.

When Keaton was done, Jeff was automatically put back in control, as he turned the stove off and hugged Jane tightly, feeling extreme remorse for what he was unable to control. "I-I'm sorry, Jane...You're right, it wasn't me. I-I hope you can understand. Slender man will explain EVERYTHING...It's going to be alright..." He sniffed, wiping tears away from his eyes. "I...I love you." He kissed her lips, and let her lay on the floor, running from his emotions.

Slender man appeared in front of Jeff, applauding. "Good job, Jeffery. You have done the right thing once again. Go find your brother and calm down. I must do MY job and give her her insanity, powers and special mask."

Jeff wondered about the mask, but couldn't stop sobbing, as he ran upstairs to find Lou.

Slender man walked into the kitchen and helped Jane up. "Do not be afraid, nor upset with Jeffery. He was merely doing what The Observer wants. I shall explain everything to you now, as I now have to offer you part in the Proxy crew." He held up the white mask that looked much like a broken China doll face, as he began telling her what was said to the brothers earlier.

This is the origin of how all the madness in Salem began, and how so much murder was committed in order to "save the world". Would you agree they DID protect it, or do you think every action the Proxy crew preformed is wrong and endangered it more?

Whatever you may believe, you may now wish to check everywhere when you're feeling watched.

You just never know...


End file.
